Truth Behind Lies
by Sapphire Insanity
Summary: Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.
1. Chapter 1

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**A/N;** This is the first story for this account! I very much like Fullmetal Alchemist, and I apologise if some things don't really seem right – I changed a detail or two to fit with the story. The stage set is from Brotherhood and the manga when Al and Edward are researching human transmutation at Tucker's house. Hope you all enjoy!

**Chapter One;**

For Edward Elric it was quite comfortable to sit in the massive library and simply read all day. He could hear the distant, quiet sounds of his brother, Alphonse, playing with little Nina somewhere nearby and he found that he could not begrudge his brother that – it had been so rare for them to be able to relax and have fun since their mother's death. At some points Edward had even found that he had to fight the urge to join them.

No, he mustn't.

He had to carry on with the research. He had played with Nina yesterday, today he had to concentrate seriously on work. Nothing less than that would get his Alphonse's regular bodies back.

Of course he hadn't quite counted on Nina's dog, Alexander, when he decided this. The large dog appeared to have taken a liking to Edward. Or, at the very least, for coming out of nowhere and landing_ on_ Edward.

As he did now.

With a yell Edward crashed heavily onto the slightly cushioned carpeted floor of the library, the not-too-light weight of the dog pressing onto his back. To make matters worse he had thrown the book he was reading into the air and it was at that moment that gravity willed it to fall back down and land on the alchemist's head.

"Ow…" groaned Edward into the floor.

"Nii-san, are you alright?"

Edward lifted his head and gazed up at the giant metal armour that was currently his little brother, who was kneeling beside him. He glared with his narrowed golden eyes, expressing his extreme displeasure with the situation.

"Do I look alright?" he growled.

Had he been in a human body Al might have rolled his eyes at that moment, and Edward found that he was guiltily glad that he couldn't. Nina's giggles from Alphonse's shoulders was already damaging enough to his pride.

"What's with you and jumping on top of me when I'm in the middle of my research?" he asked Alexander irritably.

Alexander simply looked at him and wagged his tail.

'_Damn dog…' _

"He wants to play again," Nina said cheerfully.

Because he wouldn't allow himself to glare at Nina Edward made sure to shoot an extra deadly glare at the dog again. It was _his_ fault he was in this predicament now.

"I don't have time to…" Edward began grumpily, eyeing all the fallen books around him, which had been knocked down when Alexander leapt at him. Now he was going to have to clean up before he got anything else done.

He trailed off as he looked up at Nina. That was when he knew he was lost. Her innocent eyes were widened with hope and Edward just _knew_ Alphonse was looking at him pointedly.

Discreetly the alchemist looked at the clock towering above all the shelves, centered in the middle of the library so that whoever was there didn't lose track of time. They only had another hour before Breda came to pick them up. That could be the hour in which he found what he was looking for.

On the other hand…

With an explosive sigh Edward gave in. Yawning widely he stretched.

"You know, we have a bit of time left," he said loudly and more obviously than he had hoped he was being. "Might as well pack up and run around a little."

The annoyance he had felt at having to stop and put away his research for now faded as Nina's face lit up and she beamed at him. Edward couldn't help but return the smile.

It didn't take long to pack up all the books and find their rightful places on the library shelves, a process that was hindered more than helped by Nina and Alexander. Afterwards they started to make their way outside. As they passed by the kitchen, however, Edward paused, suddenly aware of just how dry his throat was.

"I'm going to get a drink" he informed his companions.

"Okay," said Al. "We'll meet you outside."

Edward nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.

He had really expected that the kitchen would be empty, though in retrospect he didn't know why. He guessed it was because that it was so rare that they saw Shou Tucker around since he was always shut away in his lab, worrying over the upcoming assessment.

To Edward's surprise, however, the man was sitting at the table, his head in his hands. He looked up when Edward entered and paused at the doorway.

"Edward," Tucker greeted, smiling tiredly. "What are you doing?"

"I was just… going to get something to drink," said Edward a little awkwardly.

"Don't let that stop you," Tucker said graciously.

Edward decided that tap water would do him just fine. He felt a little edgy; it was the first time he had been around the man by himself. He quietly filled a glass and took a few quick gulps to sooth his throat.

He could almost feel Tucker staring at the back of his head, though it could have been in his imagination. It was making the back of his neck prickle and his flesh arm break out in goosebumps.

Did the man want to say something? Why else would he stare? _'Stop staring!'_

"Thank you," Tucker said suddenly.

Edward jumped, accidentally spilling a little water on his jacket. _'Get a grip, Edward.'_ Calming down he blinked in confusion and spun around, questions in his eyes as he set the glass down. Before he could ask any of them Tucker laughed.

"For Nina," he said. "She gets so lonely sometimes – I'm her only parent and I can get so caught up in my research sometimes, especially when she needs companionship." He sighed. "Another reason it was so tragic when her mother died."

Edward froze. Died? No, that wasn't right...

"You said yesterday that your wife divorced you," he said slowly, frowning. "And that then she left to move in with her family in the country."

As Edward watched Tucker's face closed off and something dark and sinister passed through his eyes along with wariness. For a long moment the two just stared at each other. Edward knew what he had heard, so why was Tucker trying to tell him different now?

Then Tucker's face cleared and he smiled.

"She divorced me and then she left, yes," he said. "I apologise, I didn't give you the full story I'm afraid. Later on she died out there in a car accident. I never told Nina, obviously. She would be so sad since she still waits and hopes that her mother will one day return. I can't find it in myself to squash that."

"Wouldn't it be better to just tell her and get it over with?"

"Oh, no, I couldn't."

Edward fought away the frown that was attempting to creep onto his face. The explanation was quite sound, but it did not even begin to explain the dark expression that had been on Tucker's face only moments ago. His instincts were screaming at him that something was very wrong here.

"What was her name?" he asked.

"Sorry?" Tucker asked, puzzled.

"You wife, what was her name?"

Tucker hesitated. Edward could almost hear what he was thinking. He would be weighing the pros and cons of telling him what it was. Then he would decide that Edward was probably just being curious, and that it would be easy for him to find out from someone else if Tucker refused to say or tried to lie.

"Elsa," he said finally. "Elsa Tucker."

Edward had sort of hoped that he might get a maiden name, too, but he was smart enough to know when not to push a subject any more. This was very obviously one of those times. So instead he just smiled.

"That's a nice name," he said and Tucker seemed to relax fractionally. "My mother's name was Trisha Elric."

"A pretty name," Tucker noted. "Was she beautiful?"

Edward thought about that for a moment. He thought of his mother's face, the picture still as clear in his mind as the day she had died. He thought of her smile. And his face softened with fondness.

"Very."

"You must miss her a lot."

"Of course I do." Edward turned his head to stare at the open kitchen door. "But Al and I… we make do. We wish she was still here, but all we can do is go forwards."

"Too true."

A sudden tap on the window made Edward jump for the second time, a fact which made him feel quite cross. Turning grumpily he saw that it was Alphonse and Nina at the window, peering in at him. The little girl was pouting at him.

"Nii-san!" Al said and Edward decided that he needed to change that last thought. From the sound of that voice they were _both_ pouting at him. And, as Edward was quite aware, with good reason, too. "What's taking so long?"

"Er, I'm just coming now!" Edward said sheepishly, draining his glasses and hurried rinsing it in the sink. "Sorry, Mr Tucker, better go."

"Not a problem," Tucker said, giving first Edward then the two at the window an amused smile. "You go have fun until your escort arrives to pick you up."

Edward raced out the door. He could feel Tucker's eyes on him all the way out the door, a rather unpleasant feeling, surprisingly. A vague idea of something just being _not right_ had begun to stir in his thoughts and he couldn't ignore it now, even if he didn't exactly know what was wrong yet.

What was Tucker hiding?

These thoughts were driven out of his mind when he suddenly noticed that a large dark shape was now blotting out the sun and he barely had time to prepare before that damn dog was on top of him, Al's and Nina's laughter ringing in his ears.

"You better run, you stupid dog!" he yelled, racing after the barking Alexander. "Just wait until I get my hands on you!"

"Run, Alexander!" Nina yelled through giggles.

Later Edward would decide to tell Alphonse nothing of his strange thoughts, nor would he tell anyone else. After all, they were too vague to really do anything about them and he knew that Mustang would just laugh the moment he said "something just doesn't feel right to me". Feelings were simply not enough of a base for an accusation or an investigation – even if those feelings turned out to be right.

At the moment he didn't even know what he might possible be accusing Tucker of. Therefore Edward was going to have to do a little alternative research. Chances were that nothing was wrong and that he was just tired and over-reacting to something that wasn't really there.

But if he wasn't…

Then Edward knew he would find out.

He was far too curious to let it go now.

**Next Chapter; **A curious Edward asks Falman about Tucker and about his wife, Elsa, causing people to become suspicious about what he is up to.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**A/N;** Thank you to everyone who reviewed! It means a lot to me that people have decided that they like this story. This story is actually finished, I'm in the process of beta-ing it when I get time, and there's a sequel currently in the words too :) Anyway, thanks again for reading and I hope you enjoy this next installment.

**Chapter Two;**

The next day Edward knew Tucker was watching him very closely, which creeped him out more than a little bit. As such he simply kept his head down all day and read the books he had chosen, not even pausing to play like he had done the last two days, much to Nina's (and, he suspected, Alexander's) disappointment. He did, however, almost force Alphonse to go outside with the child, though not before the two of them extracted a promise for him to play the next time he came over.

By the time Falman had come to pick them up Edward's eyes hurt and he was half-asleep on his feet after all that time reading in the library, facts and figures almost swimming in front of his eyes even without the book that went with them. He knew Tucker had been in the library all day, only a few shelves away as he reorganized his books, watching him. Half Edward's mind had been focused on his pile of books while the other half stressed about what the man might suspect.

It was also incredibly suspicious – why did Tucker feel the need to watch him so closely like that? Did it have something to do with the conversation that they had had yesterday about his late wife?

Innocent men didn't act like that. Edward was more certain than ever that Tucker had some deep, dark secret that he had to uncover, something that seemed to involve Elsa Tucker.

"Work hard?" Falman asked as they drove away, the two boys waving back as cheerfully as possible to a saddened Nina.

"Nii-san did," said Alphonse, throwing his brother an almost disapproving look for having worked himself to near exhaustion. "He made me keep Nina company while he kept studying."

"We haven't found a-anything y-y-y-yet," Edward complained, failing to suppress a wide yawn. He could wait to get some sleep. "Nina's great,though, but we don't see Mr Tucker much. He keeps disappearing."

"Well, Tucker certainly knows how to slip between the cracks without problem," Falman said darkly with a scowl and the windscreen.

Instantly all traces of tiredness vanished from Edward's mind and the alchemist sat up straight, his eyes wide. He had been incredibly concerned about where to start his investigation in Tucker's past, but he hadn't even thought about asking the people around him discreetly for information.

"What do you mean?" he asked as innocently as possible.

From the sharp look he saw Falman give him in the rear view mirror that question hadn't been as discreet as he had hoped it would be.

"You've heard about the chimera he transmuted in order to become a State Alchemist, haven't you?" Falman asked eventually.

"Yes," said Al. "Colonel Mustang told us the day he took us over there."

"All that poor creature could say to everyone was that it wanted to die," Falman said, staring stoically ahead at the road. His voice shook oddly and he was strangely worked up for the usually formal man. "No one knows how he transmuted it, nor do they know what he did to it before presenting it. The board was so impressed with his work, and a few days later the chimera died, having refused to eat anything. Tucker didn't care, he had his qualifications by then. It was a display of cruelty that should have had him turned down, but no one thought about the chimera."

Falman glared at Edward in the mirror.

"You're a prodigy," he said. "You can do just about anything, you know. But, for gods sake, don't play around with chimera, with the lives of innocent animals, please."

Edward was impressed with the passion in the man's voice and he found himself nodding without consciously telling himself to do so.

"I will never attempt to create a chimera," he swore.

Falman nodded, relaxing now. Silence descended on them, all three lost in their thoughts. Soon they arrived at the hotel the boys were staying at and it was then that something else struck Edward.

"Hey, Falman, did you know Tucker's wife?"

Falman blinked, startled.

"Yes, why?" he asked.

"I'd just… like to know something about her. Nina doesn't remember her but she still misses her a lot."

"I agree," said Alphonse, speaking up for the first time in awhile, and Edward was glad that it was in support of him. "What was she like, sir?"

Falman smiled, but his eyes were still sharp when he glanced at Edward. Obviously he suspected that Edward, at least, was up to something.

'_What's with all these people suspecting me of things? I mean, I know I _am_ up to something… am I really that obvious?'_

Shaking this thought away Edward gave Falman his best "who, me?" look, causing the man to huff, his lips twitching as he struggled not to show his amusement.

"Her name was Elsa," he said, and Edward made a note that Tucker had told the truth on that front. "I don't remember her maiden name, or where she came from. She got on well with people."

"Did you know her well?" Al asked curiously.

"Fairly," Falman said with a shrug. "She was a wonderful woman most times, though she was easy to anger." He shot Edward a mischievous look. "She was very volatile too when she got angry – think the chief when someone calls him short."

Al chuckled and Edward instantly felt anger flaring.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING…?!"

"Not now, Nii-san," said Alphonse with a sigh, clamping one metal hand over his brother's mouth. "He didn't call you short. I want to hear what he's saying!"

He removed the hand and Edward sent him a dark glare and slouched down in the seat, sulking.

"Anyway," Al prompted.

"Yes, well, it was always interesting to talk to her," Falman said, not fazed in the least by Edward's show of temper. How could he be when Mustang taunted him into it every time the colonel saw Edward? "She was very intelligent, too, and she helped her husband a lot with the theories he came up with – she encouraged him to reach his dream of being a State Alchemist.

"When Nina came along she was so happy. But a year before she left and Tucker became a State Alchemist she started becoming noticeably stressed."

"Stressed?" Edward asked. "What do you mean?"

"She and Tucker were having major arguments regarding the material he was beginning to research as well as his experiments," Falman said. "She didn't want him to be researching and creating chimera."

"Really?" Alphonse said. "So why did he keep doing it?"

"By that point their marriage was strained almost to the point of breaking. Tucker didn't care much what she thought because he had decided he would create a chimera that could understand and speak human language. Elsa hated the idea of chimera, thought it was unnecessarily cruel. One evening, about a week before she left, she had shouted at him in the middle of the street, asking if he would experiment on humans next."

"Experiment on…?" Edward shuddered. "That would be horrible, too. I'm glad he never made it that far."

"Well, he found a way to create the talking chimera," Falman said. "She disappeared the night before the evaluation and Tucker said she had put in for divorce papers and fled to her family."

"Just like that?" Alphonse asked.

"Just like that," Edward said darkly, thinking of his own father, who had just up and left.

"No one knows what became of her," Falman continued. "She seemed to just disappear off the face of the Earth. Part of me wonders… there's no way she would have just left her two-year-old daughter like that because Elsa thought the whole world of Nina. And to be out of contact for two years?

"I do commend her on getting out of that house, however. The arguments had gotten louder and love had been lost somewhere."

Alphonse seemed to be saddened by the story and Edward had to admit he felt a little sad, too, for Elsa and Nina. What had happened to make Elsa run?

And then Tucker had said his wife had died not long after she left. In an accident, he said, an accident that didn't appear to be on the records because otherwise Falman would have known about it. He debated saying something about it to see what Falman's reaction would be, but decided against it.

"Thank you for talking to us," Al said, subdued.

"And for bringing us back to the hotel," Edward added.

"Not a problem," Falman said with a small smile. "You boys keep out of trouble, hear? I would _not_ like to be the one to tell Colonel Mustang that you need to be rescued while we're watching you."

"We'll be fine," Edward assured him.

Falman gave him a piercing look.

"I'm sure you will."

The smile Edward returned was slightly nervous as he slid out of the car. There was no doubt now that Falman suspected that Edward was doing something that could likely get him into trouble.

But how much trouble could he get into, really? It wasn't like he was doing anything dangerous, he was simply digging for information. His curiosity wouldn't let all the questions he had rest, questions that he doubted anyone either could or would answer if he asked. Obviously, though, it was not the best idea to talk to his co-workers, especially if they _all_ decided that he was up to something and needed watching.

No, that would not do at all. He didn't need to be watched, he needed to just be left to do his own thing. He would clear up the mystery and then everything would be fine.

With a confident nod to himself Edward followed his brother into the hotel, never noticing the concerned eyes that watched him long after he had disappeared.

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"Warrant Officer Falman," Roy Mustang said seriously from behind his desk. "Did Alphonse and Fullmetal get home alright?"

If the situation he was about to report wasn't so serious Falman might have smiled – here was the aloof Flame Alchemist who generally tried to keep a distance from everyone asking after two boys as if he was a concerned guardian. He supposed he shouldn't be so surprised; Mustang genuinely cared what happened to the two boys and worried if one of them (most usually Edward) got into trouble.

Unfortunately this was going to be one of those times where Mustang was going to be worried for them.

"They're fine," he assured the Colonel and then hesitated, wondering how to broach the subject.

Mustang instantly picked up on the hesitation, frowning. At his shoulder Hawkeye, who had been in the office to deliver some papers, eyed him, knowing that they were about to hear something they probably wouldn't like. Havoc, Breda and Fuery (who were shamelessly eavesdropping) knew it too.

"What is it, Falman?" Mustang asked.

"Major Elric was asking questions about Tucker, sir."

"Asking questions about Tucker?" Mustang frowned. "Why?"

"He was very interested in discussing the chimera he transmuted two years ago, and equally as interested in Elsa Tucker."

This made Mustang sit up straight. This was very curious; why would the Fullmetal Alchemist suddenly be asking questions about that? He frowned heavily.

"What did you tell him?" he asked, unable to get rid of the unease in the pit of his stomach.

"I told him about her and her disappearance," Falman reported. He paused for a moment. "I thought it best that I not tell him what her maiden name was or where she came from. There was something suspicious about his interest."

"When Fullmetal's interested in something it's _always_ suspicious," Mustang muttered before shaking his head. "Good job Warrant Officer. Though I doubt you have done more than delay him awhile; he will work out everything there is to know about Elsa Tucker through other means."

"That time might be all we need to work out what he's up to, sir," Hawkeye pointed out.

"True," said Roy thoughtfully. "I cannot ask Tucker to keep an eye on him, since it is him that Fullmetal is researching. I believe, however, that Fullmetal would not be looking into this unless he has good reason."

The office fell quiet.

"What do you mean, sir?" Hawkeye asked.

"I'm not sure," said Mustang, frowning at his desk. "I ask you all to help me keep an eye on him – I don't think there's much else we can do."

"Yes, sir!" the five officers said, saluting.

"And Breda, Fuery and Havoc… please don't let me catch you eavesdropping again."

"…Yes, sir!"

After his five subordinates had gone Roy Mustang sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers together, deep in thought. It didn't make sense that Fullmetal would suddenly be interested in Tucker's past. Had something happened recently?

Or perhaps he was just interested about the type of man who had created the suicidal chimera. It had been an amazing feat, true, but Roy felt sorry for the poor creature, even after only hearing the second hand accounts of it.

Mustang sighed. He did _not_ trust Fullmetal to keep himself out of danger, but all he could do was watch from afar and be ready to pull the annoying brat out the moment he got in over his head.

Because there was absolutely no doubt in his mind that he would.

**Next Chapter; **Edward begins to wonder about the wisdom of letting his curiosity take its course while Alphonse tries, and fails, to get a fully truthful answer.

**A/N: **A point was brought up in one of my reviews that I hadn't considered, which I really should have considering the amount of chimera stories out there. One person commented about Edward maybe becoming a chimera… I'm going to give a major spoiler right now and say that no, he won't be becoming a chimera in this story. The sequel… well, won't give too much away ;) I just thought I'd say that because Edward become a chimera in this story isn't the purpose… this story is actually meant to be the back-story and prequel to the story I'm writing at the moment. Hope that doesn't disappoint anyone.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed:

pickles4brains, InsaneMuso, Koneko Hoshi, Kame-tan, 2stupid, WainGuy and jazflower


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**A/N;** Okay, another chapter looked through and edited… I've decided to give myself a time limit of a week per chapter in order to try and get these done quicker. So, let's say, by Friday every week I'll have – or will try to have – a new chapter up. I've been so busy with uni that I haven't had much time for writing, but I've decided that I really need to make time for it, and I've started working on the sequel to this again. But we can talk about the sequel when it's time for the sequel :)

By the way, sorry again to those who were disappointed that this series doesn't feature Edward becoming a chimera… I have _much_ better plans for it *cue evil cackle* Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Three;**

Edward lay on the soft bed the hotel had given him for the night, looking out through the window, which was only partially covered by the thin curtain. He could hear the soft clanking of his brother's armour nearby and wondered if Alphonse knew he was awake.

He doubted it; Edward had turned his face away and let his eyes droop half-shut. The silver moonlight fell on his stomach and made his mechanical arm gleam brightly, casting shadows on his face.

Truthfully Edward was a little glad that Al didn't know he was awake and was doing everything possible – by keeping his body still but relaxed and his breaths deep and even – to make sure the farce continued. Al would only keep asking questions Edward didn't really want to answer if he knew his older brother wasn't asleep.

Tucker and Falman (_'and, by now, likely Mustang and his entire entourage,'_ Edward thought, rolling his eyes) weren't the only ones who had become suspicious of Edward's motives. The moment they had reached their room Alphonse had turned on the alchemist and demanded to know what he was up to.

Edward's protestations of innocence had fallen on deaf ears.

If it had just been Al then Edward might have simply passed it off as his little brother knowing him far too well. But since both Falman, who knew him mostly through work, and Tucker, who barely knew him at all, had also picked him out, then Edward knew he was being just a little too obvious.

Alphonse moved slightly, armour clanking. Damn it, what was he supposed to do now, then? Mustang would hound him if he was suspicious and god only knew what Tucker would do if _his_ suspicions got confirmed somehow.

Edward sighed and shifted, rolling onto his side to face the window, an action he knew could be mistaken as having been done in his sleep. He heard Al freeze for a moment, knew his eyes were boring into the back of his head… and then his brother relaxed.

After a moment Edward frowned at the wall as a thought suddenly struck him. When Tucker had stared at him it had thoroughly creeped him out, a feeling that he had not felt like that before. Of course, it was _always_ creepy when a stranger (or even an almost stranger, like Tucker) stared… but Edward couldn't quite describe the feeling he had gotten yesterday and today.

Perhaps it was just because he had _known_ Tucker was there, watching his every movement in the library today.

Still, Edward just knew that he had wanted to get away from the man as soon as possible and that he was finding that he would like to be around Tucker less and less. Tucker had spent the _entire day_ in the library watching him, after all, and Edward doubted that anyone would be too thrilled about that.

It was a little confusing too; there was nothing that Edward had against Tucker (apart from, now, the library incident). The man was nice, a little absent-minded and scattered, and he spent a lot of time in the lab. There was absolutely nothing wrong with him, nothing that warranted Edward's suspicions.

Except the blonde alchemist could not forget the look that had crossed Tucker's face yesterday when he had called the man out on the discrepancy in the story he had told them. It had only been there for a few moments before the kindness was back.

But those few moments had been enough to send chills down Edward's spine.

'_What could have possibly made him look like that?'_ Edward wondered.

A sudden chill went through him that he wasn't sure had anything to do with the cool breeze coming through the window. He shivered and was about to pull his blankets, which he had kicked off at some point and were down near his feet, up when Alphonse suddenly moved, armour clanking as he stood up.

Hastily Edward closed his eyes fully.

Alphonse walked to Edward's side and, for a moment, the entire room was silent. Had Al figured out that he was only pretending to sleep? Edward inwardly cringed as he thought about what his brother would say if that was the case.

Then he almost jumped out of his skin as Al's cold, metal hands grasped the blanket and pulled it up gently and carefully until it was covering Edward up to his neck. Instantly Edward felt warmer; Al must have seen him shiver and decided to cover him.

"Stupid, nii-san," Al said softly. Edward felt a little indignant; he was most definitely _not_ stupid! "What are you up to? Why won't you tell me?"

Edward felt a little guilty at that, enough that he almost opened his eyes and told his little brother everything that was on his mind. Perhaps Al would have some ideas…

'_No!'_

He couldn't bring Al into this. It wouldn't be fair on his brother to do that, particularly when Edward didn't even know where his thoughts were going to take him.

A moment later Al sighed gustily and started to move away.

"Well, I hope you tell me eventually," he said, moving back to his own bed. "Especially before you get into trouble."

Edward frowned, indignation rising for a second time. What was there to get into trouble with? All he was doing was a little bit of research and then everything could go back to normal. Nothing to worry about!

Obviously, though, Al _was_ worrying quite a bit. Edward didn't know why; Al couldn't know for sure that his brother was doing something, let alone that it could potentially be dangerous.

And why did they all have to assume he was doing something dangerous anyway?! Why couldn't he be planning a secret trip into town to do some shopping or something mundane like that? The moment they decided that he was "up to something" they seemed to have also decided that Edward was going to get himself in trouble.

Edward thought about Tucker and almost laughed. It was highly amusing to think that he might be in danger from that man. Suspicious or not Tucker was still nice; he had let them into his home to use his vast library, after all.

More than likely the secret was as equally mundane as the task of researching it would be, something that would make Edward laugh when he found it.

That was another reason he didn't want to tell anyone. If he went through all that effort to discover what Tucker was hiding and found out instead that it was nothing to worry about then everyone (i.e. Colonel Mustang) would laugh at him.

Edward hated being laughed at.

No, far better to pretend that nothing was wrong and do the research when no one was looking. Smiling into his pillow Edward snuggled down and let out a soundless yawn, deciding now to try and get some sleep.

'_You'll see, there's nothing wrong,'_ he thought sleepily to himself. _'It'll be easy…'_

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The research might end up being very easy, but avoiding Alphonse the next morning was most definitely not. That was a downside to the boy not being able to sleep; he was still wide awake early in the morning which made it extremely easy to corner the half-asleep Edward.

"Al?" Edward yawned, looking up blearily at his brother when Alphonse blocked his way to the bathroom. "I'm running late, could you move?"

"No," Al said stubbornly.

Edward blinked as he processed the one word response, his mind working a little sluggishly. Why did Al refuse to move? If he didn't then Edward would be late to report into Colonel Mustang which would make them even later to Tucker's house considering Mustang would likely keep him back to lecture him.

And then Edward's mind hit upon the only possible conclusion for his brother's odd behavior. Feeling more awake now he groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his flesh hand.

"Al, please?" he tried.

"Not until you tell me what you're doing, Nii-san," Al said stubbornly.

"I'm standing here waiting for you to move!"

"You know what I mean!"

The two brother's glared at each other. At least, Edward assumed that Al was glaring – the tone of his voice had been harsh enough.

"Nii-san, I know you're up to something," Al said, crossing his arms. "Something to do with Mr Tucker. Why are you so curious about him anyway?"

"I'm not!" Edward protested. "There's absolutely nothing interesting about Tucker at all!"

"Well, that's not nice."

Edward almost growled. Alphonse had obviously been spending _way_ too much time in his brother's company if that smart-ass response was anything to go by.

"Al, just move," he said. "I'm going to be late!"

"Serves you right, then. I hope you do get lectured by Colonel Mustang."

"I don't want to get lectured!" Edward exclaimed.

"If you won't answer me then you'll have to answer to him," Al pointed out smugly. "I know Falman was suspicious too, and he would have told the colonel by now."

"There's nothing to be suspicious about! I haven't done anything!"

'_Yet.'_

"Then why were you so interested in Mr Tucker's chimera and his wife?"

"Is it a crime to wonder a little about the person who's hosting us?" Edward asked sulkily.

"When it's you… yes."

"Hey!"

Alright, this was getting him nowhere. At this rate Alphonse was never going to let him leave the hotel room. However, Al might be stubborn but Edward knew he was ten times worse.

"Do we have to stand here all day?" Al asked.

"If that's what it takes to convince you I'm not up to something."

Al went quiet. He was quiet for so long that Edward began to think that he had won the argument so he started to move forwards. Then…

"Nii-san, I'm just worried about you."

Edward froze. _'Oh no, don't play that card…'_

"You never look out for yourself and how do you think I'd feel if you got hurt?"

Edward tried not to listen. This just wasn't fair! Al was trying to guilt trip him! Well, there was no way it was going to work, Edward was far too set in his decision.

Then Al put the icing on the cake.

"Don't you trust me to help, Nii-san?"

'_Damn it!'_

"That's not fair!" Edward protested. "I trust you with my life, Al!'

"Then why won't you tell me what you're doing?" Al shot back. "If you trust me with your life why can't you trust me with your secret?"

Well, he had walked right into that one. He waited a few beats and then realized that Al had implied that he had a secret… which he wasn't supposed to have.

"What secret?' he asked quickly, too late.

"Nii-san…" Al said slowly.

Edward cringed. Now what? Al was not going to let him get away without telling him something, but Edward didn't _want_ to say what he was thinking. Then something occurred to him.

He _could_ tell Al something. Just not everything.

"Alright," he said, holding his hands up. "Will you at least let me get dressed before I tell you?"

"Fine," said Al, moving away. Then, as an afterthought as Edward passed him, he added, "I locked the window, by the way."

"What do you take me for?" Edward asked, outraged. "I wouldn't escape out the window!" He paused. "I'd probably put a hole in the wall."

Alphonse made an exasperated sound and shoved him into the bathroom.

Barely five minutes later Edward finished dressing, doing his teeth and tackling his hair, and exited cautiously to find Alphonse sitting on the lounge, staring at him. A glance at the clock told him he only had half an hour before he had to be in Colonel Mustang's office.

"Well?" Al asked.

"Look, Al, it's just… I'm curious about Nina's mum, alright?" Edward said a little nervously, not sure if Alphonse would buy it. "Nina didn't know her but other people would have, so I thought I'd do a little bit of research into what she was like when she was here. And maybe I could tell Nina something about her."

It was entirely the truth, but not all of the truth. Would Al pick up on that? For a moment Edward thought he might have done. And then Al nodded.

"Nii-san, you're getting soft!" Al teased.

"Shut up!" Edward said, blushing slightly. "Now, I have to stop in at headquarters to report to Mustang. Are you coming?"

"I might make my way to the Tucker's and start on the books," Alphonse said. "I'll meet you there?"

"Al-right…" Edward said, taken-aback. Al generally really liked going to see Mustang and the rest of the people in the office. But he supposed that Al wanted to go see Nina. "Hopefully I won't be long."

He strolled out of the hotel room. The moment the door was closed he breathed a huge sigh of relief. He was safe for now.

With that thought in mind he pushed aside all concerns about the members of the Tucker's family and walked downstairs, half his mind on wondering if the bus would arrive soon and the other half grouching about having to go see Mustang.

FMAFMAFMAFMA

Al waited until he heard that Edward was well and truly gone. Then he practically dove for the telephone, dialing a certain number.

He felt a little bad about going behind his brother's back like this, but it couldn't be helped. What Edward didn't know was that, while he had had a shower last night, Al had called Mustang. The very same person he was calling now.

"Colonel Mustang's office," came Riza Hawkeye's strict voice.

"Lieutenant, it's Alphonse," said Al. "Could I speak to Colonel Mustang."

"Of course," said Hawkeye, her voice a little warmer now. "Hold on two seconds while I get him for you."

Moments later the phone was picked up again.

"Alphonse, what can I do for you?" Mustang greeted.

"I asked nii-san this morning," Al said, not wanting to beat around the bush.

A pause.

"What did he say?" asked Mustang.

"He told me he was just curious about Nina's mum," said Alphonse. "He wasn't lying to me."

"That's all?" Mustang asked, astonished.

"No."

"No?"

"I don't think he told me everything. If that was it why was it so hard to get it out of him before? Oh, and he's on his way now."

"Joy," Mustang muttered. "Alright, Al, just keep an eye on him in case he does something stupid."

"Yes, Colonel."

That ended the conversation. Al put the phone down and sighed. It was such a difficult job sometimes, looking after his older brother.

**Next Chapter:** _Chapter Four; _Edward realizes that Mustang might be able to help him, though for a price. Meanwhile Tucker knows that he has to do something about Edward… and he knows just what that is.

Thank you to the reviews I got… getting reviews is so absolutely awesome, even if they're just ones that say they like the story. They really give a writer inspiration and makes them feel in their down days that writing is very worthwhile. Despite this being a new account I'm definitely not new to fanfiction and writing in general, so I say that from experience. The amount of reviews never matter either… it's enough to know that someone out there is reading it and likes my story!

So sincere thanks to;

jazflower, manga-animelove, sathreal, rotten little rat, and WainGuy

who reviewed the previous chapter. And thank you to everyone who is reading this story and have put it on alerts, even if you haven't reviewed :) Now I'll stop being mushy and get to the next chapter!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**A/N;** Friday night!!! I made it!!! Chapter four, ready and proofread (hopefully completely) for your enjoyment! I've got to rush off in half an hour so I can't say much, but I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Four;**

For a split second the office was peaceful, causing Hawkeye and Havoc to look at Mustang's door with no small amount of suspicious. Then…

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE COULD BE MISTAKEN TO BE A LITTLE BUG?!"

Hawkeye and Havoc sighed and returned to their work. Everything was normal.

Inside Mustang's office the colonel smirked as he looked at the fuming blonde. As far as he was concerned he had fulfilled his debt by introducing Edward to Tucker, which made the short alchemist fair game again.

"Update me on what you've found so far," he said, adopting a more serious expression.

With a sigh Edward threw himself onto the couch, scowling.

"Nothing," he said. "The books only have the vaguest of mentions of human transmutation which isn't enough to figure out a solid theory. We still have a little time, though, we've only been there three days and Mr Tucker has been generous enough to allow us to come back every day."

Mustang hesitated and then decided that he just couldn't resist.

"Would the speed with which you are reading the books happen to be affected by a small girl and a large dog?" he asked, knowing he had hit the nail on the head when Edward flushed. "Tell me, is the dog still jumping on you?"

Edward crossed his arms and remained stubbornly silent, though the red on his cheeks just became even darker. Mustang chuckled.

"Very well, keep looking then, Fullmetal," he said, and then flourished the report Edward had just given him. "I hope the next one is a lot neater."

Edward thought his face was going to burn by this point. He had actually forgotten to do the report and had rushed through it last night when he wasn't really concentrating on it but on the mystery he had decided warranted the majority of his attention.

"Yeah, yeah," he said flippantly. "It will be. Can I go now?"

"Not so fast, Fullmetal," said Mustang, leaning forward. "There was something I wanted to speak to you about. Something regarding your interest in Shou Tucker and his wife."

Was nothing secret anymore? It seemed that if he did something even the slightest bit suspicious everyone was on him, wanting to know what he was doing! Edward scowled.

"It's none of your…" he began, then stopped.

Mustang might know something. He had said he wasn't in charge at the time of Tucker's assessment, but he was a colonel now and he had access to more records. And, besides that, army gossip was almost entirely reliable and Mustang had a reputation in his office for always keeping one ear to the ground.

"Yes?" Mustang asked warily, not sure whether or not he should be concerned at the considering look Edward was now giving him.

"Do you know anything about Elsa Tucker, sir?" he asked.

"Me?" Muistang asked, bemused. "I told you I wasn't in charge then."

"I doubt you haven't heard anything about it."

Mustang's lips twitched. He supposed Edward was right in that regard. He considered it for a moment. He could give Edward the files he had collected last night after hearing of the boy's interest and make his search easier. Or he could withhold the information and hope that Fullmetal might eventually drop it.

He sighed inaudibly. _'And the sun might stop rising.'_

Besides, if he gave Fullmetal the folders than the alchemist would owe him, a debt that Mustang knew how he wanted repaid. He smiled slowly.

"Alright, Fullmetal," he said. "I know what you want and I'll make it easier for you." Edward grinned. "But there's something I want in return."

"Equivalent exchange," Edward muttered, rolling his eyes. He straightened. "Alright, what do you want?"

"I suppose a bit of respect would be too much to ask for." He saw the look Edward was giving him. "I thought so. Someone as short as you doesn't have room for a respectful bone."

"WHO'RE YOU CALLING SO SHORT THAT HE CAN'T EVEN FIT ALL THE BONES IN HIS BODY?!"

"Do you want the files or not?"

Edward paused and deflated. Yes, he very much wanted what Mustang was teasing him with.

"Okay, what do you want in exchange for the information?" he asked.

"A report."

Edward blinked.

"I give those to you anyway."

"This is a _special_ report, to be done after you've found whatever you are hoping to find on Tucker," Mustang said dismissively. "You will hand it to me after seven days."

"I'm not looking for something," Edward said automatically.

"And I'm the Queen of Amestris…"

"Really? Who would have guessed?!"

"Fullmetal, this is serious," Mustang said with a sigh. "We all know you're looking for something but none of us know what it is. When you have found it then I would like to know. As such you will promise to write a _neat and lengthy_ report during the course of your research and give it to me at the end of the week."

"You could ask for anything and you ask for that?" Edward asked, bewildered.

"I want to know," said Mustang seriously. "Either you find what you are looking for and our curiosity is satisfied, or you don't and it will teach you a lesson about meddling in other people's affairs. Even if you find nothing at all I want you to give me the report."

"Alright," Edward said with a shrug; he supposed there could have been worse things that Mustang could have asked for. He did cringe at the fact that he would have to write about _why_ he had started becoming interested, though. Mustang would never let him live it down… especially if he didn't find anything. "I promise."

"Very well," said Mustang. He reached into his already open draw and pulled out two thin files. Neither had much in them, but he hoped what was there would be enough to satisfy the boy. He held them out. "Take care of them."

"Thank you," Edward said, taking them and grinning.

Mustang watched as he walked toward the door.

"One more thing, Fullmetal," he said when Edward reached for the hand.

"Yeah?" Edward asked, turning his head.

"Try not to get yourself killed; the paperwork would be torturous."

Edward surprised him with a laugh and a lazy salute. "Yes, sir!"

Then he was gone. Mustang sighed and stared at the papers scattered across his desk. A moment later Hawkeye stuck her head into the room, expression inquisitive.

"Edward looked in a good mood," she noted.

"Yes," said Mustang frowning. "I gave him what he wanted."

"Are you sure that was wise?"

"Honestly, I don't know."

FMAFMAFMAFMA

Edward was incredibly pleased. So pleased that the only thing on his mind was the files he was holding and it wasn't until he was halfway to Tucker's house that he realized that he couldn't exactly waltz into the house with the files since they were about the man. Which meant he would have to return to the hotel.

'_Oops, don't want to be caught with these by Tucker.'_

Half an hour later he was at Tucker's house, the files hidden safely under his bed where he could read them tonight. Or tomorrow, depending on how he felt when he got back to the hotel after another day of studying and (likely) running around.

Listening he could hear the sound of screeching laughter from the house and he smiled fondly. Had Alphonse even started on the research or had Nina instantly coerced him into playing with her and Alexander?

Somehow Edward knew he would bet on the latter.

Edward didn't notice Tucker standing behind the partially closed kitchen door as Nina and Alphonse let him in. If he had he might have become even more suspicious. The man was eyeing him closely, a deep frown marring his face.

Just that morning he had gotten a phone call from his only contact in the military. The contact kept an eye on people who took out certain files and Tucker was a little alarmed to hear that Mustang had taken them last night.

Whether Mustang read them or not, however, was not the problem because he wouldn't look too closely. But he was certain that he had handed them over to Edward Elric.

And that would spell trouble.

The kid was already curious enough, as evidenced by the questions he had asked the other day, questions that were far too close for comfort. And Tucker had seen the wariness in his eyes when he had made a mistake and indicated that his wife was dead rather than just having moved away.

There was also the fact that the Fullmetal Alchemist was a prodigy, a genius. He would have had to be in order to become the youngest State Alchemist at the age of twelve. It would only take a few pieces of information for everything to click into place for him, information that Tucker knew he could not prevent Edward from getting.

His hand curled into a fist. The moment Edward figured it out he was done for. He wouldn't have to worry about his upcoming assessment because he would be jailed.

'_This isn't good.'_

He didn't know what to do. Edward was likely on the edge of uncovering his greatest sin, which had fuelled his greatest triumph. Part of him couldn't really regret what had happened since it had meant that he had become a State Alchemist.

He needed to do something of equal value this year, but he was at a loss. The chimera he had presented the year before had been a simple mix of bird and fox… but that was something a lot of powerful alchemists could do, which meant Tucker hadn't stood out like a State Alchemist should.

'_Like Edward stood out.'_

Edward Elric was truly a rarity among alchemists. Naturally powerful and intelligent, he understood concepts that could take alchemists three times his age longer to work out. He knew what he wanted and he was going to get it, no matter what.

Unfortunately this attitude was _not_ helping Tucker's current situation. If Edward was determined to work out what was suspicious about Elsa's disappearance two years ago than he would probably stop at nothing until he figured out what it was.

If only he had been able to get those records sealed! But there was nothing special about a report on his first assessment, nor about a disappeared woman's records. There was nothing suspicious in either of them.

To the untrained eye.

For someone already suspicious like Edward he could learn a lot. And anything he couldn't learn about Elsa he could learn from Elsa's family, whose contact details were included in the file.

Tucker could already see what would happen. Edward would call them and ask about Elsa's death. And the moment they told him they hadn't seen her in two years his suspicions would turn to the chimera he had created.

At the exact time his wife had disappeared.

As the kids made their way to the library Tucker moved away and leaned against the wall, covering his face with his hands. He had known it was wrong, he really had, but he hadn't been able to stop himself. His wife had gotten on his nerves that night, trying to convince him to stop his experiments, that there were other forms of alchemy he could use.

He had injured her quite badly before he had realized it. He had had the knife in his hand while chopping vegetables and a terrible rage had come over him.

'_How dare she try and tell me to stop when I'm so close! I _will_ become a State Alchemist, no matter what the cost!'_

When the red mist of fury had dissipated it was to find that he had stabbed Elsa in the middle of the chest. She was looking at him in shock and horror.

At first he had panicked. He had known then that he had killed her; it was a fatal wound and she was already breathing shallowly and coughing up blood.

And then he had had an epiphany. If a chimera was to talk human than did that not mean that part of it had to be human?

Perhaps he had made a mistake fusing her with an intelligent wolf. A less intelligent animal may not have asked for death. In the end his wife had helped him to achieve his goal after all, and a few days later she was dead, all evidence of his sin gone.

He had promised himself he would never do it again. He would not take another human's life at the expense of his experiments. He was lucky enough to get away with it once; he doubted he would be able to do it a second time.

He had thought it was covered, that no one would ever find it. And then an inquisitive brat comes along and threatens to destroy it all!

'_What do I do?'_

Nothing helpful came to mind. Edward was going to destroy him by exposing his secrets to the military and he could only watch helpless like a spectator at a car crash watching the two cars slowly collide.

Nothing could save him now.

He sighed and forced these thoughts away. His fate really depended on what Edward did, he supposed. He doubted he would have told anyone because he had no evidence. Once Edward had the evidence what would his first thought be?

To turn Tucker in, of course.

'_No, wait…'_

Tucker could hear his daughter laughing again. Edward adored the little girl. If he found evidence that Tucker was a murderer who had experimented on his own wife…

Then his first thought would be for Nina. The first thing he would do would be to come and take the girl away and then report Tucker to the military.

That would be Edward's biggest mistake.

Tucker smiled grimly. Some promises needed to be broken at some point. By tomorrow night Edward would have figured it out. He had today and tomorrow then to set it up. And when the alchemist came looking for Nina…

He would wish he had kept his nose out of Shou Tucker's business.

**Next Chapter; **_Chapter Five;_ Edward begins to research the files he received and finds some strange inconsistencies.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed;

Jazflower, manga-animelove, sathreal, Kame-tan, Horselvr4evr123, amiegirl17 and xXLunarWolfXx


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**Disclaimer;** Gah, I totally forgot to do this in the last chapters. This goes for chapters one-four, too; I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. Wish I did though, since Edward is just so awesome -huggles-

**A/N;** Sorry! I know I was meant to get this out earlier, but I got caught up with uni work, and just plain work, and I had no time to actually edit the chapter… but it's here now! I'll try not to take so long with the last three chapters – that's right, three chapters left! The story is winding down now…. Or is it? –Evil cakle-

On a side note does anyone watch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood? It's being dubbed in English, but me and my siblings watch it in Japanese with English subs… and it's nearly done! I so badly want to know what happens, but I'm not going to cheat and read ahead in the manga. On more month and I'll know!

**Chapter Five;**

By the time Edward and Alphonse returned to the hotel that evening the blonde alchemist was almost dead on his feet and did not feel up to looking through the reports, despite his previous enthusiasm. Nina had seemed determined to make up for (or punish him for) yesterday when he hadn't gone outside. As a result he had spent half the day reading and the other half either being dragged around or running from that stupid dog.

"Tired, Nii-san?" Alphonse asked, amused.

Edward just grunted as he fell, fully clothed, onto the bed, not even bothering to take his shoes off he was so tired. He was all too aware of the reports Mustang had given him, but at that moment all he cared about was sleep.

"At least take your boots off," Al said.

"Yeah, yeah…"

With a sigh Edward sat up and tugged his boots off. Then, thinking about it, he dropped his coat and jacket onto the floor before falling backwards, not caring that he was still wearing his normal trousers and shirt.

Within moments he had drifted off and was deep asleep, causing Al to chuckle softly as he looked at his brother. He wondered what Edward had done with the reports he had mentioned in a whisper that Mustang had given him.

Whatever Mustang had said to Edward had been enough to convince him to stop pretending that he was searching for something. When Al pointed this out his brother just glared and refused to answer.

Al had thought he would look through them straight away, but he hadn't counted on Edward being so tired that he could barely walk straight. Al thought for a moment. They would be going back to Tucker's tomorrow, and Edward probably _still_ wouldn't get much of a change to pursue them.

And Al wanted him to find out. Because once Edward found out what he was looking for then he would tell his little brother as soon as he could. Alphonse was intensely curious, now, about what had caught Edward's attention, and he knew Mustang was just as curious too; otherwise he wouldn't have given the young alchemist the files.

Suddenly Al saw a sliver of white poking out from beneath Edward's mattress and he realized where his brother had hidden the important files. The urge to ease them out and read them was strong but Alphonse managed to resist it.

Edward deserved to look at them first and Alphonse doubted he could read them and understand what it was that interested his brother so much anyway. If only Edward could hurry up and read them…

And, just like that, an idea occurred to him.

FMAFMAFMAFMA

"You want me to what?" Edward asked the next morning, blinking up at the suit of armour.

"Stay here," Alphonse repeated patiently.

Silence reigned between them for a moment.

"Why?" Edward finally asked.

"Well, I figured that you could probably get some things that you need done that you've put off because we've been at Mr Tucker's house so much," Alphonse said.

Edward stared. "You're a horrible liar, Al."

If armour could blush Edward knew that was what his brother would be doing.

"Fine," Al sighed. "I want you to read those reports that Mustang gave you."

"Why do you care about that?" Edward asked blankly.

"No reason," Alphonse said in a would-be-casual voice. "But, when you find what you're looking for, you'll tell me, right?"

That's when it clicked. Edward blinked again and then burst into laughter. It was suddenly highly amusing that his brother wanted him to do "potentially dangerous" research because he was incredibly curious about it.

"I don't know, Al," he said, teasing. "It's not like you really need to know…"

"Nii-san!"

"Relax, Al." Edward shot him a grin, the irony of him telling his brother to relax for once not lost on either of them. "I have to give Mustang a report at the end of the week and if I have to tell _him_ everything than it's only right that you get to know too."

"Why do you have to write a report?" Al asked curiously.

"That's what I have to do in return for the files," Edward said with a shrug. "You're sure you'll be okay at Tucker's by yourself, then?"

"I'll have Nina with me. And Alexander. They'll be disappointed that you couldn't come today; I'll say that you aren't feeling well."

"Thanks, Al," said Edward gratefully. "You'd better get going, then?"

Edward found himself watching out the window as his little brother crossed the street and disappeared into the crowd, amazing as that sounded. He was suddenly a little lonely; it was so rare that he went anywhere without Al these days that the sudden absence of the large suit of armour left an equally large hole.

Rousing himself and telling himself that he was being ridiculous Edward retrieved the files from under his bed and took them over to the low table by the couch. That was when he faced a dilemma.

Which one should he look at first?

It would be logical to look over Tucker's first assessment before anything else, he supposed, so Edward pulled it closer and slid the sheets of paper inside it out. The first page was simply a record of Tucker's identity and Edward scanned it curiously.

There was a photograph and beside it was the name, age and birth date. The date of the report was two years previously, likely just before or after he got his state license.

'_Before,'_ Edward corrected himself. This form still labeled Tucker as being married, so it would have to have been not long before they divorced and she ran.

There was nothing of interest on it other than that and Edward set it aside. The next report was about Tucker's transmutation and the chimera that he had presented. The board were full of gushing praise, calling him the foremost expert on chimera now and well-deserving of the title "the sewing-life alchemist". Edward wrinkled his nose and put it aside too.

There was only one more report. This one was a lab report. A report that had been written by the scientist who had taken the chimera in after the presentation. It was dated one week after Tucker earned his license.

If Edward had expected more praise of Tucker's work he found himself to be surprised. The report couldn't be more disparaging and insulting of Tucker's work if it tried. Scanning it quickly Edward realized that it made several references to the chimera's death.

"_Despicable…"_

"_An utter waste of what was once two separate lives..."_

"_If Tucker had half a brain he would have found the time to comfort the creature and perhaps stall its death…"_

"_Obviously cares nothing for life…"_

"_If the chimera wished for death it likely had good reason…"_

"_I find this to be the worst case I have ever seen…"_

"_Almost human-like depression that made it refuse food and eventually kill itself…"_

"…_I will never look at Shou Tucker the same again."_

Edward frowned. The report was signed by someone named Doctor Marcus Seulle. The post script at the bottom, written by hand unlike the type written report, indicated that the doctor had handed in his resignation and gone into early retirement not long after he had written the report.

Quickly he put the scientific report to the side, not wanting to look at it any more. The thought of that poor chimera still made him as ill as it had the day he found out – a creature that wished for death had obviously been treated poorly.

The file on Elsa Tucker was in even smaller; it only contained two pieces of paper – the one that detailed everything about Elsa and a copy of her marriage certificate.

The marriage certificate was boring. Elsa and Tucker had been married two years before Nina was born. Her maiden name had been Rein. That was it.

At first glance the other document didn't give Edward much in the way of information either; it told him about her marriage to Tucker, the birth of Nina, her family…

'_Wait. Family…'_

Tucker had said that Elsa had gone to stay with her family after she had left him. If anyone would know what had happened to Elsa than it would be them!

And then something else caught his attention.

"_Status: Missing."_

'_What the…?'_

If Tucker knew that his wife had died in an accident then why he had not told the record makers so that they could update her status? Why was it still displaying her as missing?

Maybe it was just that it had been so long since the report had been updated. When had it last been updated anyway? Edward's eyes flicked to the date down the bottom… and he froze, his mouth running dry.

There had to be some sort of mistake here. This just wasn't possible, not if he was to believe what Tucker had told him. Even if Edward had been suspicious he had still believed the man a hundred per cent when he had said his wife had divorced him and left.

Except that this report was trying to make a lie out of that. It made the mystery suddenly a whole lot more sinister. Because on this report Elsa Tucker was still labeled as married even if she was missing.

And it had last been updated two months previously.

Edward's heart was thumping in his chest. Tucker had lied about the divorce? Why would he lie about something like that? What would be the point when anyone could see clearly here that it wasn't the case?

No, someone had to have made a mistake or else checked their facts wrong. Spying the room phone next to his bed Edward dove for it, Elsa's marriage certificate in hand. Usually he didn't use this phone, preferring to use the free phones in the hallways, but today it was an emergency. Quickly he dialed the number at the bottom of the certificate, praying that they hadn't changed it in the last six years.

After four rings, which seemed to last an eternity, someone picked up.

"Registry of births, deaths and marriages," said the man on the other end and Edward breathed an almost audible sigh of relief. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was wondering if you keep track of all divorces that go through?" Edward asked, keeping his fingers crossed.

"Of course we do, but we can't give out that information to just anyone," said the man firmly.

Edward grinned. "Of course. My name is Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist in the military. My code is CT27482."

There was silence for a moment as the man checked the code that Edward had given him. And then he made an odd humming noise.

"Very well, Mr Elric, what would you like to know?" he asked.

"I would like to determine the cause of the divorce of Shou Tucker and Elsa Tucker nee Rein."

Edward heard tapping on the other end and he fought not to fidget. Any moment now he would find out something important, he was sure of it…

"I'm sorry," the man said regretfully, catching Edward's attention. "I'm afraid that there is no record of Shou Tucker and Elsa Tucker ever having divorced. Their marriage is here and, since Elsa Tucker is still listed as 'missing' the marriage still stands."

"I see…" said Edward slowly. "Thank you for your time. Bye."

"Good day."

Edward hung up the phone, frowning. What was going on here? It looked like there was only one place he was going to find any sort of information and he brought Elsa's record over to the phone this time.

"_Parents: _

_Father – Sanden Rein_

_Mother – Rika Rein_

_Hometown: Rush Valley"_

There was a contact number for her parents too, a number that was to be rung in the event that the truth of their daughter's disappearance was discovered. That note, which was under the number, made Edward uneasy all over again.

Trembling slightly Edward dialed the number and listened as it rung. When it was picked up he almost jumped out of his skin.

"Hello?" came a gruff voice.

"Hello, Mr Rein?" Edward asked cautiously.

"Oh, I'm afraid Sanden isn't here at the moment," he said. "If you leave me a number I'll get him to call you back a little later."

"Thank you," Edward said with a sigh. "Tell him my name is Edward. I'll give you the number of the hotel I'm staying at right now…"

Quickly he rattled off the number and then they both hung up. Groaning Edward collapsed backwards onto his bed. It seemed that he had hit a few dead ends and there was nothing more he could do right now.

Everything depended now on the phone call from Sanden Rein.

**Next Chapter; **_Chapter Six; _After a false start Sanden Rein finally calls back. And then Edward starts putting together the pieces of a horrifying puzzle.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed;

rotten little rat, Darkmoon Fleur, WainGuy, a writer of fics, jazflower, amiegirl17, Sonar, Horselvr4evr123, Kame-tan, sathreal, manga-animelove


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**Disclaimer;** I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist. If I did I'd be able to tease Edward about being short than me.

**A/N;** Another chapter! And after this the last two chapters for this fic! I will definitely say now (I can't remember if I said it before) that there _will_ be a sequel. I've sort of started writing it – and by 'sort of' I mean that I started it, cut it and started it again. It's only got a page and half so far. Still! Anyway, we're winding down now, so I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Chapter Six;**

Edward refused to move far from the phone all day. He had called down to the front desk and instructed them that he was expecting a phone call for someone simply asking for 'Edward' and asking them that if said phone call came through would they please transfer it to his room phone as soon as they could. After that he stayed right beside the phone, getting to work on the report Mustang had asked from him.

As a result he was fairly hungry by the time Alphonse returned, not having even gotten up to go and get something quick to eat. He was also highly frustrated by the report.

When Alphonse opened the door he took two steps inside and stopped, puzzled. Why was the room covered in crumpled bits of paper? Edward was sitting cross legged on his own bed, beside the phone, scribbling furiously on a fresh piece of paper.

"Nii-san?" Al asked cautiously.

Edward looked up at him with slightly wild eyes.

"I keep trying to start this damn report!" he exclaimed. "It has to be _neat and lengthy_ he said. But everything I said sounded stupid! Now I don't care! I'll write it and when I've gotten the rest of the information I'll rewrite it!"

Alphonse made a weak sound of agreement. Exactly how long had his brother been working on that report? Obviously too long.

Suddenly Edward's stomach growled.

"Have you eaten today?" Al asked.

"Er… not since breakfast."

"Nii-san!"

"I was busy."

Alphonse strode forward and stopped when he was standing directly over his shorter brother. Sometimes the height difference came in handy.

"Go eat something."

"But…!"

"Nii-san…"

Glaring and grumbling Edward set aside his report and stomped out of the room, mumbling about annoying little brothers. Alphonse just grinned.

Barely a minute later the room phone rang and, startled, Alphonse picked it up.

"Uh, yes, hello, would Edward be there? My name is Sanden Rein."

"Oh, sorry, he just stepped out for a moment. Do you want me to get him to call you back?"

'No, don't worry," sighed the man on the other end. "Tell him I'll call again tomorrow morning, if you would?"

"Of course. Bye."

"Goodbye."

'_Who is Sanden Rein?'_ Al wondered as he put down the phone. _'I'll have to tell nii-san about it when he gets back.'_

As Alphonse started clearing away the papers he promptly forgot all about the phone call, even when Edward returned. Half an hour later, upon seeing his brother sitting by the phone again, he remembered.

"Oh, Nii-san, a phone call came for you earlier while you went to eat dinner."

"Huh?" Edward asked, head shooting up.

"Yes, not long after you left," mused Al. "He said his name was Sanden Rein and that he would call you back tomorrow morning."

Al had expected Edward to react to the news… but not like this. Edward dropped his papers, stood up and then promptly collapsed to his knees on the floor.

"I waited _all day_ for that phone call!" he wailed. "And it came the one time I wasn't there!"

"Oops…" said Al sheepishply.

FMAFMAFMAFMA

Edward was not impressed with his report. He stared at it early the next morning a little glumly, wondering if he should just shred this one too.

He had barely gotten any sleep the night before and had been forced into wakefulness at the sound of Alphonse rolling over and accidentally falling off the bed. Now his brother was reading a book while Edward, despite the fact that the sun had barely come up, was staring at the pieces of paper that held the information he had currently collected.

Which meant the report was very, very short.

'_Damn it,' _he cursed. _'I'm wishing now that Mustang had asked for something, anything else!'_

Well, there was nothing for it right now. This could serve as his rough draft; he would add whatever Sanden Rein told him and then he could rewrite it. Still, Edward wasn't sure he would be able to word it any better.

His face burned at even the _thought_ of what Mustang would say when he read the report. The early part of it had to include references of the off feeling he had gotten from Tucker, and wasn't that just a riot; the scientific state alchemist relying on _feelings_ to tell him when something wasn't right.

After that he talked about what he had discovered from the files that Mustang had lent him, which was followed by what he had found when he discovered the registry office. That had taken up perhaps a page and half in small, slanted writing that he knew the colonel hated particularly. Everything that followed after would be what Rein told him and what he concluded from it.

It was odd to think that by the end of the morning he would have found everything that he had been looking for. What that was he didn't know yet, but he was certain he was getting close.

And he was certain that none of it was good.

It was highly suspicious that Elsa was still labeled as 'missing' even though Tucker himself had confirmed her death, and on top of that was the imaginary divorce that the two of them had never gotten. An hour before Alphonse had returned the alchemist had actually called back and asked what was required for a divorce.

In short terms it needed the signatures of both people in the marriage.

Had Elsa just up and left without bothering with a divorce? Had she truly been so eager to get away that she had just fled, without either her daughter or an official annulment to the marriage she was escaping?

No, it couldn't be right. Falman had said that she loved Nina and indicated that she was a fairly strong willed woman. If she had truly been frightened enough to run out of the blue like that she would have taken her daughter, he was sure of it!

Growling Edward dropped the report on the bed again. None of it made sense at the moment; hopefully Rein could shed some light.

Al looked up.

"Something wrong, nii-san?" he asked.

"Just frustrated," Edward sighed.

Alphonse hummed noncommittally. And then he sat up straight, armour clanking.

"Oh!" he said. "I almost forgot. Mr Tucker asked if we could not visit today; he said he had important preparations to do for his assessment."

"Okay," said Edward. That was actually a good thing; he would have had to take another day off otherwise. "What will you do all day?"

"We're running out of some things," Al said. "I might go to the shop this morning and then read this afternoon."

"Sounds good," said Edward.

The hours ticked by slowly. There was really nothing to do until the phone call came through, and Edward was left pacing restlessly until Alphonse all but threw a book at him, annoyed by his older brother's frustration.

Finally, at exactly nine o'clock, the phone rang. Edward dove for it, almost tripping over the book that he had dropped on the floor.

"Hello?" he asked breathlessly.

"Is this Edward? My name is Sanden Rein."

"Yes, I'm Edward!" the alchemist said, relieved. "I'm sorry I missed your call last night."

"Not to worry, young man."

Alphonse waving to him caught Edward's eye and, when he looked, Al indicated to himself and the door, saying that he was going out now. Edward nodded and waved him off before returning his attention to the phone.

"Now, may I ask exactly who is calling other than just 'Edward'?" Rein asked.

"Yes, sir," said Edward respectfully. "My name is Edward Elric."

There was silence for a moment.

"So, the Fullmetal Alchemist, a military state alchemist," said Rein. "What did you want to speak to me about?"

He sounded neither angry nor pleased; his voice was suddenly dead and flat, making Edward incredibly nervous.

"I-I don't want to bring up anything bad, but I have to ask," Edward said, a little anxiously, half expecting to be yelled at. "I need to ask you about your daughter, Elsa Tucker nee Rein."

Silence. Dead silence.

"Why?" Rein asked eventually.

"I just… you might think it's stupid," Edward said, tugging on one of his bangs. "I'm doing research at Shou Tucker's house at the moment and some things that he said… well, then I did some research and something just didn't seem _right_ so… I thought I'd call you and ask."

All of a sudden Rein began to laugh. A low, bitter laugh.

"It takes the child alchemist suspecting something is up before anything is done," Rein muttered, and Edward thought about being indignant about being called a 'child'. The man sighed. "Can you tell me what you have discovered?"

Shouldn't _he_ be asking the questions? Still, it couldn't hurt to answer.

"Not much," Edward said. "I've discovered that though Tucker said he and Elsa divorced there's no record of it. Also that she is labeled as missing though Tucker told me she had died in an accident after she left him. Apart from that I know next to nothing; I was hoping you could give me some answers."

The man made a funny sound; Edward was alarmed to realize that it was a choked sob.

"You've just given me more information than I've heard for two years, boy," Rein said. "I haven't seen my daughter for that long."

Edward went cold.

"But, Shou Tucker said that when Elsa left she returned to her family," he said.

"He lied," Rein said flatly. "Elsa never returned; I heard from her the day before the military labelled her as missing. The day before Tucker received his state qualifications. I've tried to see my granddaughter but he refuses."

Something was _wrong_. Wrong, wrong, _wrong_! What was happening here? Why had Tucker told him that lie? And if she hadn't returned to her family... then what happened to her? 

"I don't understand," Edward muttered, grabbing the report. "How can someone just disappear into thin air?"

"I wish I knew."

Edward frowned when he realised he had accidentally grabbed Shou Tucker's files as well, including the scientist's report. He really didn't want to look at that again...

'_Wait...'_

"Mr Rein," he said slowly. "You say Elsa was labelled as missing the same day that Tucker passed the state exam?"

"That's right," said Rein.

"Who reported it?"

"Tucker did. He said she had up and left the night before and he had been unable to find her all day. That night he went to the military police and told them, and they told us not long after that."

Tucker had been the one to discover her absence; of course, he was her husband so he would naturally be the first to notice. He had reported it the same day he had passed the exam.

She had gone missing the night before.

Just... disappeared, into thin air, as though she had never been in existence.

All it had wanted was to die...

"_Almost human-like depression that made it refuse food and eventually kill itself…"_

Edward's breath caught.

"No," he whispered. "He didn't…"

"Edward?"

"…_One evening, about a week before she left, she had shouted at him in the middle of the street, asking if he would experiment on humans next."_

"_No one knows what became of her…"_

"_If the chimera wished for death it likely had good reason…"_

Edward was having trouble breathing. His hand had grabbed the pen and he was writing quickly on the report, putting his thoughts down before he could lose them, drawing a conclusion that he was struggling with.

"She disappeared the night before the evaluation," he muttered. "Gone, completely and utterly with no trace... she loved her daughter but left her... he said they divorced, which needs two signatures but he lied... for a... for a..."

'_For a chimera to speak human it must have the ability to start with. One cannot just fuse two animals and hope it can speak. For a chimera to speak human it must be an animal fused with...'_

"No, no..." Edward said frantically. "Damn it!"

"You aren't making sense!" Rein said sharply. "By the way you are talking you have figured something out."

Edward swallowed. "You know of the chimera Tucker created?"

"Of course. Why?"

"I think... I think..." Edward felt like he was about to throw up. "I think that to create that chimera Tucker... fused an animal and a human."

Horrified silence permeated both ends of the phone.

"But..." Rein said faintly. "He... murdered my daughter?"

Edward wasn't sure whether or not to be grateful that the man was accepting his conclusion without argument. Tucker had really done it; he had murdered his wife and used her to create a chimera.

Last year he obviously had not done it again because his annual assessment had not gone well at all. But if he had done it once he could do it again in the future.

"What is Tucker doing now?" Rein asked urgently.

"Al, my brother, said he was using the day to set up for this year's assessment," Edward said. "He didn't do so well last year."

"He would do anything to keep that qualification."

"I know." And then it hit him; the one factor in this whole debacle that he had not yet thought but was like the most important one at the moment. "NINA!"

Panic suffused him.

"Mr Rein, I have to go," he said hurriedly. "I've got to go get Nina and then go to the military. I'll get someone to call you and tell you what's happening... I'm so sorry..."

"Don't be," said Rein gruffly. "Don't be. And be careful."

"I will," said Edward distractedly. "Bye."

He hung up before he could get an answer. He looked at the papers in his hands and grabbed a fresh one, writing a note to Alphonse. Then he grabbed his coat and dashed off.

People stared as he raced by them, but they were only blurs. His footsteps were pounding in time to his heartbeat and he only had room for one thought in his mind; Nina. He had to get to Nina.

'_Oh god, what if he uses Nina in an experiment? If he used his wife what's to stop him using his daughter? I have to get there before it's too late!_

'_I have to hurry!'_

**Next Chapter; **With the horrifying truth revealed Edward dashes to save Nina, but might get more than he bargained for. Alphonse rushes to get help, but will they make it in time? Second to last chapter!

Thank you to everyone who reviewed;

Sonar, manga-animelove, PaperBagGhost and jazflower


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**Disclaimer;** If I owned Fullmetal Alchemist then there would be one thing I'd change about the ending of Brotherhood/Manga. However, as that is a spoiler, I'm not going to say it!

**A/N;** Brotherhood/Manga is _finished_. My god, it was such an awesomely epic ending and just so _Ed_. There was one thing I was annoyed about, but with the whole spoiler thing I won't say it since there's not spoiler warnings for this story. The ending, however, is making me revise what I'm doing for the sequel of this story – I don't know whether to do a complete AU or to bow to the canon ending. Anyway, just as a heads up, the sequel will likely have spoilers.

I just can't believe it's finished! Anyway, thanks for reading the penultimate chapter for this story, I actually revised some of the things that were already written, and I'm completely rewriting the final chapter now too. Still, it won't take long to do. So enjoy!

**Chapter Seven;**

Soon, as Edward hurtled around a corner, almost knocking a man off his feet, he saw the house he was heading for come into view. He was just about to put on a burst of speed before a thought occurred to him that made him stumble to a halt, ignoring the angry muttering around him.

What would happen if he ran in there asking for Nina? Tucker was already suspicious about what Edward might know, and if he thought for a moment that the alchemist had figured him out he might just take Nina and run.

Edward could not allow that to happen.

Which meant he would have to act like everything was normal, like he hadn't just realised that the man had killed and transmuted his own wife. Taking in a deep, steadying breath Edward willed his racing heart to calm.

He couldn't stop his heart from pounding heavily, but he managed to even out his breathing. Taking in a deep breath he relaxed his body as much as he was able to as he approached the Tuckers' house. He hoped to the god he didn't believe in that he wasn't too late to get Nina away.

His hands were almost shaking as he reached out to knock and froze. Nina aside it suddenly occurred to him that a man who had gotten away with murder for two years was in there. A shudder went through him.

Shou Tucker portrayed a scattered but easy-going man; no one would ever be able to guess that he had once committed the most despicable of sins. Once he had grabbed Nina Edward would be able to go straight to military and make sure Tucker got what he deserved.

'_Calm,'_ he told himself. _'You are calm, you are in control. You thought that maybe Nina would like to play while Tucker works, get her out of his way for awhile. That's all...'_

He knocked.

He heard the footsteps almost immediately as though someone had been waiting for him. A moment later the heavy wooden door was thrown open and Tucker was there suddenly, blinking at Edward.

"Hello, Edward," he said pleasantly. "Didn't Al tell you that I was busy today?"

"He did," Edward assured him, trying to speak around his dry throat. He swallowed heavily and stood straighter. "I'm sorry to bother you like this, but I thought I could take Nina out to play for awhile so you can work in peace."

Tucker stared at Edward for the longest time. The alchemist had to fight not to fidget. Then Tucker's face broke out into a relieved grin.

"Of course," he said. "I would be very grateful. Nina's in her room."

He stepped aside and Edward walked inside, relief bubbling in him. Tucker hadn't become suspicious, had agreed without problems, now he just had to get Nina and go.

"Which way?" he asked.

"Up the stairs, down the corridor and it's on your left," Tucker said. "I must say I'm very grateful for you offering this for me."

"No problem," said Edward distractedly.

Had he been in the right frame of mind Edward would not have turned his back on Tucker; the man was a murderer, so it only made sense. But his thoughts were too muddled, too relieved, too cluttered. He turned away from Tucker and began walking up the stairs.

The walk up to Nina's room was short, and Tucker ambled along after him, a silent, sinister shadow looming behind him. When they reached their destination it was to find the door was firmly closed.

"Last I saw of her she was hiding in her cupboard with her toys, playing pretend," Tucker spoke up suddenly as Edward reached out for the doorknob.

Edward accepted this with only a moment of hesitation, but decided that there was nothing more important than getting Nina away from here right now. With a short nod he swung open the door and peered inside.

"Nina?" he called.

There was no answer, no sound. Edward was vaguely aware of Tucker looking around the room over his head.

"Nina, Edward's here to play," the man said.

Still nothing. And then he heard it, a muffled sound from the cupboard. Nina was probably in there, pretending that she was hiding from someone. Edward grinned.

"I'll go get her," he said, stepping into the room and making his way to the cupboard.

The relief was an almost palpable emotion and everything in him that was screaming at him for not keeping an eye on Tucker was ignored for the moment. He could take Nina, get out of here and then it would all be okay. He could go to the military and send the soldiers, and then Tucker would go to jail for what he had done.

Whatever he had been expecting when he threw open the door however, it was not to see Alexander lying on the floor of the cupboard, the small form of Nina nowhere in sight. The dog looked up mournfully at Edward and whined.

There was no Nina. She wasn't there. Upon seeing that the door was staying open Alexander hesitantly got to his feet and slunk out, staying close to Edward's side.

Still the cupboard remained empty of Nina.

All the anxiety, all the fear, everything that had crashed upon him the moment he had figured it all out swamped Edward at once, and the act that everything was fine was gone. Nina wasn't here, her dog had been trapped in the cupboard, Tucker had lied _again_...

"Where is she?"

He almost didn't recognise his own voice; calm, deadly. Edward became conscious of the fact that he had clenched his fists to his sides, and he couldn't make them relax even if he had wanted to.

"Where is who?" Tucker replied calmly, as though he hadn't noticed the dangers.

Edward had tried to be diplomatic – just the fact that he had showed up and _not_ beaten the hell out of Tucker proved that – but his patience was gone. As was Nina.

"Nina," Edward growled, turning and facing Tucker. "_Where's Nina_?"

"With a friend," Tucker replied with a small, strange grin. He stepped into the room and kicked the door closed. "I sent her there this morning since I knew you were coming."

"I won't let you transmute her like you did your wife," Edward swore, taking a step forward, Alexander cowering behind him.

Something dark passed across Tucker's face.

"I hate kids with good instincts like you," he said. "But you do have one thing wrong. I was never intending to transmute Nina, though the thought had crossed my mind once or twice in the last few weeks."

This answer threw Edward, because he had been _so certain_ that he had figured out what Tucker was going to do. Had he rushed over here just to be completely and utterly wrong?

Then again, he supposed it didn't matter if Tucker had decided not to commit murder again. The fact that he had already committed it once was bad enough and he would go to jail whether he had decided to use Nina to make a chimera or not.

But getting out of here would be difficult. Edward had played his hand too early evidently and let on what he already knew. Slowly he dropped into a tensed fighting stance, trying to loosen his body so it would be easier to duck and weave.

"Fine, you weren't going to transmute Nina," he said. "Why didn't you run when you knew I was coming? You know I'll go straight to Mustang once I get out of here."

"What makes you think you will get out of here?"

There was that strange grin again that Edward did not like. It sent shivers up and down his spine and made all the alarm bells in his head ring. This was the Tucker that had killed and transmuted his wife, no doubt about it.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked; Tucker was standing between him and the door, and the man's eyes were watching his every move. At this rate he was going to have to dash at him straight on and knock him down.

"For a genius you are being surprisingly dumb. I will make my talking chimera today, so you were right on that count. You just misjudged who the key ingredient is."

It took seconds for Edward's mind to comprehend this. Seconds for horror to fill him. Seconds for his body to react to the thoughts that had sprung to mind.

If his actions seemed desperate perhaps they were. Tucker was planning on transmuting him with an animal, that much was very clear. Nina had never been in any danger, it had always been Edward.

And he had walked straight into a trap.

'_You idiot!'_ he screamed at himself. He should have realised this the moment he realised Nina wasn't where Tucker had said she would be. But he hadn't. Angrily, furious at himself, furious at Tucker, he drew his fist back and connected the punch before Tucker even had time to dodge it.

The man hit the wall and Edward furiously punched him again. If he thought the alchemist was just going to sit back and let himself be used in a transmutation like that, then he had another thing coming!

Alexander's whine prevented him from punching Tucker again. Edward froze mid strike and then stepped back, dropping the man to the ground. He had done what he had come for, Nina wasn't here, she was safe, so the next step was to get this bastard behind bars.

With a last disgusted look at Tucker he turned and walked out of the room. Out in the hallway, however, he paused.

"Alexander," he called. "Come!"

In seconds the dog was at his side, strangely meek for the large dog that had had no problems jumping on him before. Had Tucker done something to him? Then again, being shut in the cupboard likely hadn't been a pleasant experience.

Well, Nina would never forgive him if he left Alexander behind. With a nod to himself Edward started for the stairs.

He never saw it coming; he hadn't thought Tucker would actually come after him because he had seemed too dazed when Edward walked away from him. But as he reached the top of the stairs a force behind him gave him a sudden, hard push.

There was no time to protect himself. Suddenly Edward hit the stairs painfully and he was tumbling down them, no pause to even do a transmutation. Eventually he reached the bottom and he lay there, the wind knocked out of him and feeling dazed from hitting his head. Blinking blearily he looked up to see Tucker slowly approaching, something wooden in his hands, Alexander barking from the top of the stairs.

And then Tucker was swinging what he was holding towards his head and the world went black.

FMAFMAFMA

An hour after Edward had left Alphonse returned to the hotel, easily lugging a large shopping bag with him. If he knew his brother than he also knew that eventually Edward would get bored with the search at Tucker's and want to get out of town for awhile.

It would be best to be prepared before he decided that out of the blue.

Sighing Alphonse went straight to Edward's bed where the brown suitcase they took everywhere was sitting. A moment later he stopped as he realised that he was alone.

'_Where did Nii-san go?'_ he wondered.

He looked around, confused. His brother hadn't said anything about leaving the hotel; Al had been sure Edward would be here when he returned. Now that he looked, though, there were signs that Edward had left in a hurry; the phone was almost falling off the table, the blanket on Edward's bed was bunched up and papers were spilled haphazardly on the floor.

And the hotel door had been unlocked too. Al hadn't thought anything of it at first since he thought Edward was in... normally Edward was so incredibly particular about locking doors behind him. What had made him forget?

That was when a small but neat pile of papers caught his attention. They were sitting innocently on the low table before the couch and, as Alphonse got closer, he could see that paper on top said his name in large letters, obviously to make sure he knew that it was for him.

Curiously Al moved that paper aside and found a note underneath addressed to him.

'_Al,_

_This is my report about what I was investigating. I got that phone call from Sanden Rein this morning and he told me some things. I need you to take this report straight to Mustang. You can read if it you want, but read it as you run. It's IMPORTANT._

_Ed.'_

Alphonse hesitated for a moment, fighting the urge to just sit and read it now. But, if his brother had said it was urgent then it would be best to take it as quickly as possible. Chuckling to himself he scooped up the report and left the room, locking the door firmly behind him.

As he started reading the report he walked – the writing was messy and the sentences were punctuated with sarcastic comments to the colonel. This was odd; this was how Edward wrote drafts because even he knew that to hand something like this in was only asking for trouble. Why was he sending this to Mustang without even bothering to rewrite it?

When he reached the part about what Edward had found from the registry office Al started to walk a little quicker, unable to believe it. Tucker had lied to them about the divorce, but why would he do that?

Then he reached the part about Sanden's report. It was messy as though Edward was just spewing his thoughts down hurriedly onto the paper. There were no sarcastic remarks now, just urgency that was coming almost tangibly of fthe report.

As he read on Alphonse was barely aware of his footsteps gradually getting quicker until he was flat out running, barely even bothering to watch out for people in his way and almost knocking a person flying as he flew by. And when he reached the end he clutched the report in his fist and just ran fast, horror engulfing him.

'_Nii-san! Nina!'_

FMAFMAFMAFMA

When the door crashed open Mustang looked up, expecting it to be Edward. He was _not_ expecting to see the gentler, younger Elric, the metal armour practically quivering in anxiety.

"Alphonse, what is the matter?" he asked sharply.

The office door was wide open and his five subordinates were peering in, for once letting curiosity get the better of them at the sight of the distraught Alphonse. The armour shoved a few pieces of paper toward him.

"You have to read this!" he exclaimed, voice high with fear.

Mustang took it with a frown and realised that it was Edward's report. As he started to read he snorted at some of the comments and kept reading – this was obviously a first draft so why had he been given it?

Then, like Alphonse, he reached the part about the phone call and sat up straight, eyes scanning the rest of the report quickly. When he was finished he dropped it and stood up quickly.

"Everyone, with me!" he commanded. "Prepare to move out! Havoc, take this report to Hughes and then catch up to us. We need to get to the Tucker residence as quickly as possible. I'll fill you in on the way."

FMAFMAFMAFMA

Edward groaned loudly and moved his head, not willing to open his eyes just yet. His head was thumping fiercely and his whole body felt weak.

'_What happened? I was at the hotel... that's right, then Sanden called and...'_

Memory slammed into him like a ton of bricks and Edward's eyes flew open. He had come to Tucker's house to get Nina but Tucker had tricked him.

A quick look around told him that he was lying on his back in the middle of Tucker's study. The man was nowhere in sight. Pushing the pain in his head away he tried to get up.

He only got so far before a tug at his wrists pulled him up short. Blinking he looked down to see that his wrists were shackled to the floor beside him with strong metal braces... his ankles had been treated in a similar manner.

'_What the...?'_

He struggled against them for a moment but they were tight and there wasn't any room for him to get a hold of them. The shackles were seamless, and not even pulling upward with all his strength with his automail arm could make them budge. Panicking slightly he looked around, hoping there was something nearby that could help him, but the floor around him was clear. Taking in a deep breath Edward studied his surroundings, trying to calm himself.

Books were almost falling off the shelves and around the room were cages. Silent animals – chimera – looked back at him, hunched in their cages. Obviously the results of previous experiments, likely the attempts to created a chimera that spoke human without having to use a human in the transmutation.

Speaking of...

His heart began to beat faster as Edward realised that he was lying in the middle of a large transmutation circle. The circle that was going to turn him into a chimera.

Part of him wondered if he should yell or scream in the hopes that someone, however unlikely it was, would hear him. Fiercely he struggled against his restraints, ignoring how dizzy the movements made him feel, the hit his head had taken making him feel woozy and sick to the stomach.

How could he have been so stupid? He should have gone straight to the military, but Nina had been foremost on his mind. Instead he walked into Tucker's clutches and gotten himself caught. Nina was safe, and instead Tucker was going to use the one person that could destroy him.

But it was all in vain. Soon Mustang would have the report Edward had written, and then the military would be here. Tucker would go to jail for what he had done.

Would it be enough to save Edward, though?

The door at that moment opened and Tucker stepped in, a leash in his hand. As Edward watched Tucker pulled on the leash, pulling Alexander into view.

The dog took one look at Edward and whined. It was easy, based on what Edward had just realised, to guess what the dog was doing here.

"Edward," said Tucker pleasantly as though he was not talking to a trapped boy on the floor of his study. "How are you?"

"I'd be a lot better if you let me go," Edward snarled, tugging uselessly on his restraints.

"I can't do that, Edward," said Tucker, shrugging. He stepped into the circle and tied the leash to one of the shackles on Edward's ankles, shortening it enough so that Alexander could not leave the circle. The dog whined and tried to move away. "This time tomorrow I will have passed my assessment and Nina and I can live happily again."

"And what will you tell her about the dog?" Edward asked.

"I will tell her Alexander got hit by a car," Tucker said, shrugging. "The reason isn't that important; she will get over it."

No matter how hard Edward struggled he couldn't free himself and tears of frustration brimmed in his eyes. Alexander laid down forlornly, his head on Edward's leg, as though he knew what was about to happen. _'Smart dog...'_

"Now," said Tucker, grinning. His face was half in shadows and Edward felt a thrill of fear as it hit him that in moments the transmutation would be complete. "Let's begin."

"People will notice I'm missing!" Edward exclaimed desperately, hoping to have time to find some, _any_ weakness in the shackles. "What are you going to tell them?"

"I don't know anything, of course," said Tucker. He picked up Edward's red coat which had been lying on the table; Edward hadn't even realised it was missing. "They'll search and eventually find this floating in the river."

"They'd assume I drowned," Edward concluded.

'_At least, they would if I hadn't left that report for Al and Mustang. Hopefully they're on their way here right now.'_

And, as if in answer, Edward heard the faintest sounds of cars pulling up outside. His heart leapt. They were here! Al had made it to Mustang in time!

But now Tucker was kneeling. Edward's body was full of tension as he listened to doors opening and closing, something the man hadn't even noticed or didn't think anything of. Tucker grinned at him again as the front door was kicked in and then he put his hands to the circle.

Everything disappeared around him. The crackle of alchemy surrounded him and then Edward felt pain... bone-breaking, agonising pain that he had never felt in his life before. He knew pain, he had lived with it on more than one occasion. But this was something else.

A scream tore itself from his throat and he threw his head back, barely noticing as it smashed into the concrete. Dimly he realised that Alexander was howling and Tucker was laughing. His body felt like it was being ripped apart and his mind like it was being torn harshly in two.

This was it, he was done for, there was nothing he could do now, nothing anyone could do, he was dying... _'Stop it! Help me!'_

Then it was gone. Edward's body relaxed, shaking horribly, as darkness closed in on him. Beside him Alexander slumped to his side. Edward gazed blearily up at the ceiling. What had happened?

"...ward. Edward! _Edward!_"

Someone grasped his shoulders and shook him and when Edward blinked Mustang was suddenly there, leaning over him, something that looked an awful lot like concern on his face.

"God damn it, Fullmetal, say something!"

Edward coughed. "Bas-tard. Leave me... alone."

Mustang stared at than he laughed, pulling Edward up off the floor. When had the restraints disappeared? Edward groaned and slumped forwards. He would likely feel embarrassed about leaning on his commanding officer later but for now there was nothing else he could do.

"He's okay," said Mustang to someone else.

"So is the dog," someone replied. "We need to get it to the vet, though, just in case. Who knows what the side effects of a failed chimera transmutation could be?"

"We should get Edward to the hospital, too, then," Mustang said with a nod.

Edward groaned. Hospital? He didn't want to go the hospital!

But it appeared that his body wouldn't let him fight it. He could only sit there, leaning limply on Mustang. Words were starting to blur together now and he couldn't make out what they were saying. With an internal sigh he gave up and let blackness enclose him.

**Next Chapter; **_Chapter Eight; _Edward was saved and Tucker has been taken away. This chapter is over and done with and now Edward can put it all behind him. Right?

**A/N;** If anyone was curious, I actually revised the part where Tucker caught Edward. Originally Edward turned his back and Tucker stuck with a sedative, but I decided I didn't like that anymore and rewrote it. Then had to revise some of the later parts to fit :) which was interesting. Hopefully I managed to grab any last minute grammar mistakes too.

Just a quick note, because one of the reviewers from the last chapter pointed out that Edward was getting a lot of suspicion from people when he was talking about researching Tucker. I have to admit, I didn't look at it that way, I didn't realize that I wrote it like everyone seemed to already know what happened to Mrs Tucker. It was more a point of humour, really, something to have a little giggle about. Hope that answers the question!

Thank you heaps to everyone who reviewed and said they liked my story, it really made me feel good, especially as I started posting this story unsure if it was good or not! It's definitely giving me the need to write the sequel, so thanks;

manga-animelove, girl with hair, theretard5892, iTorchic, PaperBagGhost, AnimexoverCartoons, Lightest'Ink, Sonar, BreezeNightingale, Kitsura E., MistressRukia13 and jazflower


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary;** Edward does a little too much investigation into Shou Tucker's first chimera. Tucker sees an opportunity to pass his assessment… and keep the boy quiet.

**Disclaimer;** I don't own _Fullmetal Alchemist_, because if I did Hughes and Nina would have lived *still not over their deaths*

**A/N; **I'm so sorry that you had to wait so long for this; life tends to get in the way like that. But… it's finished! Welcome to the final chapter of _Truth Behind Lies_ and I hope it as satisfactory an ending as you were all hoping for. Well, as much as an ending as you can get at the moment *evil cackle* Hope you've enjoyed this story as much as I loved writing it!

**Chapter Eight;**

Mustang found himself alone, standing in Shou Tucker's now abandoned study, simply staring at the horrible circle etched into the ground before him. His face was a blank mask, but his mind was whirling with thoughts.

'_What if...?'_

What if they hadn't gotten there in time? They had arrived at the house in order to hear a scream; but not a little girl's as they had been expecting. No, it had been Edward who had been screaming, voicing his agony for them to hear, and the shock at hearing it had made them spring into action and rush past the last few doors.

Mustang had gotten there first. The sight of Edward trapped on the floor, his face contorted in pain as alchemy crackled all around him had been infuriating enough. But it was seeing Tucker kneeling beside the boy and _laughing_ that had made the usually calm colonel lose it. He was surprised he had had enough reign on his temper to not fry Tucker to a crisp on the first click.

The second click likely would have done it had the sudden sound of silence not permeated the room. Mustang's attention had instantly turned to Edward, who was lying limply in the middle of the room next to the dog, both of them looking half way dead.

It had been close, far too close. In that one instant they could have lost Edward Elric. Alphonse would have lost a brother, the Rockbells could have lost part of their family... Mustang and his team could have lost a subordinate/superior/brat of a co-worker/friend.

They could have lost him.

For a horrible moment Mustang had been afraid that they had. Edward had been unresponsive to his calls, his breathing had been shallower than normal, his face had been so _pale_. So many times Mustang had watched someone die, but he hadn't been prepared to see Edward dying before him.

It was times like these that he regretted ever leading the kid to the military. Anything that happened to him would be Mustang's fault. No one would blame him, expect a few, but Mustang would blame himself.

On the other hand he could keep an eye on the boy, too, making sure he didn't get missions that could lead to death, giving him missions that Edward could do without making it seem like he was going easy on him.

Slowly Mustang scuffed the edge of the circle with the toe of his boot, watching as the line faded ever so slightly. Whatever Tucker had drawn it with had been designed to stay for awhile, so it definitely wasn't chalk.

This must have been planned in advance. Tucker had known Edward was going to come here, he had said so himself as he had been taken away. He had known and he had set up a trap that the boy had walked straight into.

Mustang was really going to have to talk to him about priorities. When you find a psychotic murderer you report them, not run straight into their clutches.

Then again... would any of them have done something different in this case? The life of a little girl could have been on the line here. If Nina had still been there and Edward had never shown up she could have been the key ingredient.

Still, a simple phone call would have taken two seconds, and the back-up would have been there in five minutes, long before Tucker knocked Edward down the stairs (Tucker had admitted that, and they had found blood on the stairs where the alchemist had likely hit his head hard). None of this would have happened and Tucker would never have even had a _chance_ to try and create a chimera.

Evidently Edward had panicked, which was somewhat surprising. While not the most level-headed kid in the world, Edward had always been calm in the face of danger. In the face of a murderer, however, he had completely lost his head and his mind had gone on one track – in this case, 'Save Nina'.

Nina was going to have to go to her grandparents. She had been picked up from her friend's house an hour ago and she had been inconsolable ever since, despite not fully understanding what had happened. Alexander (reports were showing that there were some signs of very _unusual_ intelligence from the dog) had been checked over quickly by the vet and instantly taken to her side. Tomorrow Sanden Rein would arrive to take her back with him.

It was sad that Nina had yet again lost a parent, and she barely knew the truth of either disappearance. One day she would have to be told, but for now...

With a frustrated sigh Mustang turned his back on the circle, cursing it for even being there.

"It could have been worse, you know."

Mustang looked up to see Maes Hughes standing in the doorway, his ready grin absent as he surveyed the study with a grim look, his eyes lingering on the circle on the floor. Mustang sighed wearily.

"I know," he said tightly.

"But it wasn't," Hughes continued. "In fact the doctors said he was completely fine except a few bumps and bruises... not even a concussion."

"Did you get his story?"

"Yeah, apparently Tucker surprised him after Ed thought he'd knocked him down. Tucker hit him with something and the next thing Ed remembers is waking up in the study not that long before we arrived."

"Fullmetal's lucky he wasn't killed."

"True." Hughes grinned suddenly. "He's on his way here."

"The hospital released him?" Mustang asked sharply.

"As I said, there's nothing wrong with him. Hawkeye's bringing him and Al. Ed's in a right mood, though; Al won't stop hovering, it seems, and it's making Edward snappy."

"Joy..."

A snappy Edward who had almost been killed recently and had just gotten out of hospital was _not_ someone Mustang wanted to deal with. However he needed to see with his own two eyes that the kid was fine.

Perhaps Hawkeye and Hughes had organised to bring Edward back here for that very reason, though Mustang knew neither of them would actually admit to it.

"I was hoping to remove the circle," he said after a moment of silence. "But it doesn't budge."

"Not chalk then?"

"It would have rubbed away where Fullmetal was if it was chalk."

"Good point. Do you think Ed will be okay?"

The sudden change in subject startled Mustang for a moment. And he realised, in that moment, that this was the real reason the man had come here. He knew this was where Edward was heading and he, too, needed to see that the boy was okay.

"He'll be fine," Mustang answered, projecting confidence into his words that he wasn't entirely sure he felt.

FMAFMAFMA

Edward stared at the front door of the house that, only yesterday, he had nearly... well, he wasn't entirely sure he would have died, nor did he know that he would have completely lost himself in the transmutation. But something bad would have happened to him.

It was enough to make him wish he never had to see this house again.

Unfortunately, this was where his superior officer happened to be at the moment, and said superior officer had requested his presence, likely to hear his story firsthand and then berate him for almost getting killed. Edward scowled and crossed his arms as Hawkeye went ahead, walking toward the door and opening it when she got there.

"Colonel Mustang is in the study," she said, looking back at Edward.

Of all the places Edward _didn't_ want to be. Still, it would be best to get this over and done with, so he straightened his back and nodded cautiously, conscious of the wound still on his head.

"Right," he said.

The house had an eerie feel to it now. Perhaps it was knowing, now, about the murder that had been committed here, and remembering what had almost happened to him here. Edward found himself treading carefully and tensing as they walked toward the study where they could see Hughes standing in the doorway.

At the sound of their approach Hughes leaned back a little and grinned when he saw it was them. He gave them a mock salute.

"Hey, Ed, Al, Hawkeye," he said. "Good to see you up and about, Edward. Mustang's just in here."

Edward just gave him a weak smile, not even able to come up with a customary reply or a snide retort about Mustang's presence. Slowly he stepped past Hughes and into the room, refusing to allow his eyes to go to the circle that had almost transmuted him.

"Fullmetal," Mustang said, instantly catching his attention. He was standing next to the circle, his hands behind his back and a strangely intense look in his eyes. "You're out of hospital."

Edward had the uncomfortable feeling that his superior's eyes were looking particularly at the bandage wrapped around his head as he said this. He had sustained a few wounds to his head and the doctors had been satisfied with nothing less than a tight bandage before letting him go.

"Nii-san drove them crazy so they let him go," Alphonse said from right behind Edward, making him jump slightly.

"Al!" Edward cried. "They said there was nothing wrong with me. There was no point staying!"

"The point is usually to make sure you don't have a relapse," Hughes pointed out cheerfully from the doorway, well out of Edward's reach at the moment.

"Well, that aside, Hughes mentioned he had already asked you what happened?" Mustang said dismissively.

"Yeah. Not there was much to tell."

"Then I just want to tell you that what you did yesterday was dangerous." Mustang's level look turned into a glare. "What were you thinking coming here when you knew there was a murderer here?"

"I was _trying_ to save a little girl," Edward snapped back.

"Who wasn't even here."

"She could have been!"

"The point is, Fullmetal, that you could have been killed. You were lucky we showed up when we did."

Edward scowled, hating the reminder that he had needed their help. It was so rare that he got into a situation that he couldn't get himself out of, and yesterday definitely hadn't been one of his better moments.

"Yeah... thanks for that," he muttered.

Strangely these words seemed to make Mustang just sigh in exasperation. It suddenly struck Edward how _parental_ Mustang was being at that moment, telling him off for pulling a dangerous stunt and sighing in that 'what-will-I-do-with-you' way. Edward couldn't decide if he wanted to enjoy it just a little or hit the man for daring.

Luckily for Mustang Hughes spoke up before he could make a decision.

"I need to go," he said. "I'm heading over to talk to Tucker; luckily he isn't that far away. We might finally get the full truth of what happened two years ago."

"Mr Rein would like that," Edward murmured.

"We're keeping in contact with him," Hughes assured the boy. "He said to send along his sincerest thanks and he hopes you weren't hurt too badly."

"Thanks," said Edward.

With a wave Hughes was gone, leaving Hawkeye to remain by her post by the door.

"Are you okay, nii-san?" Alphonse asked. "Do you want to go back to the hotel now?"

"Al, I'm _fine_," Edward stressed. "Even the doctors said there was nothing wrong with me, okay?"

"But..."

"The failed transmutation didn't do anything?" Mustang interrupted.

"It doesn't seem like it," Edward said, frowning. "Which I'm glad about; my mind would have been the first thing to go, so the fact that that is unaffected means there shouldn't be any other problems."

"You mind?" Mustang asked. "How do you mean?"

"From what I understand of chimera creation, it involves the bonding of two creatures' body and mind in order to create one being," Edward explained, his eyes becoming slightly unfocused as he thought about what he was trying to say. "The alchemy in the transmutation does this by first creating a link to the mind and fusing them as one before dragging the bodies along with it, eventually fusing them. If done right the transmutation would have ended up with me still being myself, but also, on some level, being Alexander. I don't think Tucker was doing it right however... I don't know if anyone ever has done it right."

"This process... it was painful?" Mustang asked with a frown, remembering Edward's screams.

"Very," Edward said seriously. "A link was already being formed in those few seconds that the alchemy was active." He chanced a glance at the transmutation circle, noticing that part of it had been burnt away. There was no questioning who had done it. "Any longer and it would have been too late for my mind."

"So, you would still be in your bodies... but it would be one mind in two separate entities?" Alphonse asked, trying to understanding.

"Sort of, it would be more that it would be as though I traded half my mind for half of Alexander's," Edward said, thinking about it. "Who would be able to tell what it would have done to both of us?"

Alphonse nodded slowly. It was strange to see the brothers able to put aside their horror of what had been done in this very room and talk about what had almost happened to Edward in calm, scientific terms. Mustang's stomach was churning just thinking about what could have happened here, and from the small twitch of her face Hawkeye felt the same.

"How's Nina?" Edward asked suddenly, coming out of his world of science and academics to the reality of what was happening to the people around him. "Is she okay?"

"Fuery picked her up and told her a little of what happened," Hawkeye said. "She's very upset, but she's fine otherwise. Tucker didn't even make an attempt to use her in the transmutation."

"That's one good thing about all this," Alphonse sighed.

"Hughes is going to find out everything Tucker knows, and then he's going to go to jail for a very long time," Mustang said grimly. "He is being accused of murder as well as the assault and attempted murder of a military officer. Those two alone are enough to send him away for life."

"I'm sad for Nina, but I'm glad of that," Alphonse said before Edward could say anything. "At least nothing like this can happen again."

"Where's Nina going to go now?" Edward asked.

"Sanden Rein and his wife will take her in," Hawkeye assured him. "For the first time Nina will meet the rest of her family and perhaps hear more stories about her mother."

For long moments the four stood in silence. Edward found his eyes being drawn to the transmutation circle on the ground and he simply stared at it, trying to force away the pain and horror he had felt while lying in the middle of it. It was over, he had been saved, there was nothing to worry about anymore...

Except that the circle was still there.

All of a sudden he wanted it destroyed. There were signs that people had tried, but it hadn't been erased, it only needed to be completed again and it would be back. The urge was so great that Edward couldn't fight it. _It had to go_!

He was barely aware of clapping his hands and dropping to the ground suddenly, causing his three companions to jump. He slammed his hands to the ground and the concrete beneath them rumbled angrily and shifted.

"Fullmetal, what are you doing?" Mustang shouted, hurriedly getting to the door.

Edward gritted his teeth and ignored him. Cracks appeared in the floor and books fell off the shelves, and suddenly the concrete was breaking up, smashing itself into little bits and then crushing into a fine dust that no one would have any hope of ever putting back together again.

Finally it was done. Edward sat back on his heels and surveyed his handiwork; the concrete floor was now ragged instead of smooth as it once had been and the floor was covered in white powder that shifted and moved from the slight breeze coming in from the door.

Most importantly, however, the transmutation circle was completely gone.

"Nii-san, I'm sure there were better ways to get rid of it," Alphonse protested weakly, though it was a little late for that.

"It was the first way I could think of," Edward replied calmly with a dismissive shrug, keeping his back firmly turned to them so that they couldn't see the tightness in his face that would betray exactly what he was feeling right now. He was so relieved it was gone... "It worked didn't it?"

After a moment he sighed and stood up, stretching unnecessarily.

"Was there anything else you wanted us for?" he asked Mustang, who was looking at him intently again. Edward shifted uncomfortably.

"No," Mustang said finally. "Take tomorrow off as well. We'll finish up here. Did you want to take any of the books from Tucker's library?"

Edward hesitated. Did he?

"No," Alphonse said before Edward could come to a decision, knowing his older brother well enough to know what was going through his head. "We'll look elsewhere."

"Alright," Mustang said. "Go straight back to the hotel."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Edward said dismissively, rolling his eyes. "We'll be fine." He glared. "But why did you have to call us out here when it was raining?"

"It started as we got here," Hawkeye explained helpfully. "It's probably still going."

"Well, I suggest you walk quickly," Mustang said, lips twitching in a smirk.

Edward glared and growled.

But it wasn't a normal growl of annoyance. Edward's lips pulled back slightly and bared his teeth in a snarl, and the growl was animalistic, rumbling deep in the boy's throat in a way that Mustang had never heard him do. Suddenly, as though realising what he was doing, Edward slapped his hands over his mouth, ceasing instantly.

"Damn it, not again!" he cursed.

Mustang blinked. That had sounded like... no, it couldn't be. But then, the reports did say that Alexander was showing intelligence that far surpassed what he should be showing. What did they mean by that?

Could it be possible, after all, that neither Edward nor Alexander came out of the failed transmutation as unscathed as they had thought?

"What?" Edward snapped, glaring at him. "It's probably just an after effect of being linked temporarily to Alexander. It will go away, I'm sure of it."

Would it? Mustang slowly nodded in acceptance. Edward wasn't a chimera, that much was clear, he was still human and Alexander was still a dog. There was nothing wrong with them, except the dog showing startling intelligence and now Edward showing slightly dog-like behaviours.

Just an after effect, that was all.

"Very well," Mustang said, straightening. "I expect to see you in my office the day after tomorrow, Fullmetal."

"Sure," Edward said, already on his way out the door. "See you."

"Bye," Alphonse said moments before his older brother pulled him from the room.

They disappeared quickly, leaving Mustang and Hawkeye to stare at the place they had just been. Mustang frowned thoughtfully, looking back at where the transmutation circle had once been.

"Just an after effect?" Hawkeye asked, repeating Mustang's thoughts.

"Fullmetal isn't a chimera."

"No... but something did happen here."

"Just what was it?" Mustang frowned heavily. If Edward began showing unusual symptoms that could relate to this transmutation... "This needs to be kept secret, no one can know about Fullmetal's involvement in this."

"Yes, sir."

It would be difficult to keep this under wraps, but the public need only know that a young boy had been involved. And no one but those investigating this case and perhaps the Fuhrer needed to know it was actually Edward. The files that had his name on them would have to be put away in a place no one would find them.

Mustang's thoughts were cut off as Hawkeye's transmitter crackled suddenly and she quickly took it off her belt and pressed the button.

"Hawkeye," she said sharply.

"_Hawkeye, thank god, is Roy there with you?"_

"I'm here," Mustang said, striding across the room and moving closer to the transmitter upon recognising his best friend's voice. "What happened?"

"_You'll never believe this... but I arrived to interrogate Tucker only to find that he's dead."_

"Dead?" Mustang asked, taking the transmitter. "How? He was being guarded!"

"_The guards were found dead too, killed in exactly the same way. There's no doubt about it; this is the work of Scar."_

"Who is Scar?" Hawkeye asked.

"_You might have heard of him... he's the State Alchemist killer. No one knows his real name so we just call him Scar. He killed Brigadier General Grand, the Iron Blood Alchemist, the other day, though don't spread that around."_

"He killed _Gran_?" Mustang asked, shocked. "What weapons does he use?"

"_We have absolutely no idea. We don't know who he is, what he uses or why he's killing State Alchemists. All we know about him is that he has a large scar on his forehead. He's going after any State Alchemists he can find, and he's in this city. Increase your guard, Mustang."_

Mustang frowned, and then a thought occurred to him, causing him to nearly drop the transmitter. Hawkeye quickly caught it.

"Sir?" she asked.

"The Elrics!" Mustang said. "The just left!" He grabbed the transmitter. "Hughes, deploy the cars and have them head out to the main road! The Elrics just left here by themselves!"

Hughes' curse was cut off as he turned off his transmitter. Mustang turned to Hawkeye, his stomach tight with worry.

"Let's go."

As soldiers got into cars and Mustang and Hawkeye left the Tucker estate as fast as possible the Elric brothers ran through the rain. Barely watching where they were going they ran through a courtyard and approached a large stone fountain, unaware of the large, dark shadow looming ahead of them.

FMAFMAFMA

The file was clutched in a hand that trembled ever so slightly in excitement. It was worth it, in the end, to be in investigations if information like this would come along.

No one knew, no one would ever suspect, what significance the events at the Tucker residence held to him. And he would be one of the few that knew the truth and would be able to act on it.

Slowly he began to grin as he did as he had been asked and tucked the file away in a place no one would ever find it. It would take some time and thought, but the damage had already been done. He _knew_... and one day Tucker's research on chimera would become obsolete in light of this new information.

No one else would ever know... until it was too late.

**Finis**

**Sequel – **_One Heart, Full Mind; _After Tucker's death Edward Elric put the entire ordeal behind him in light of the future set out before him. After the Promised Day, however, someone appears who has picked up the old research and decided to finish what Tucker unintentionally started...

**A/N;** Well, it's finally done… sort of. _Truth Behind Lies_ is, at any rate. I hope you've enjoyed this story and I hope to see you all in the sequel!

A few people actually guessed where I was going and I have to say that to everyone who said it; you were right, I was aiming for the partial chimera, which I'll explain, hopefully, more fully in the sequel. As for what happened to Edward… well, I only explained it vaguely in this chapter for very good reason. I'm not giving away all my secrets just yet!

The explanation for the chimera transmutation was completely made up by the way. If there is a canon explanation anywhere, feel free to point me in the right direction, but I had no idea so I made it up, and it hopefully sounds alright; my sister said it did at any rate.

As for my dark little character; I'll let you speculate :)

I think that's all the clean up I needed to do at the end. If there is any questions just leave it in a review and I swear I will answer this time. I've just been so busy with work and uni that I barely have time to get the chapters up! I'm setting time aside though, for the sequel. Thank you so much for reading and reviewing and watch out for _One Heart, Full Mind_!

Thank you to all who reviewed;

jazflower, manga-animelove, amiegirl17, Lightest'Ink, Kitsura E., Ashleigh Errow, Sonar, Kame-tan, Bgranger1990, The-Curse-of-Forever, Plumalchemyst, WainGuy, Kingdom of Zetalnarury-88


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